October 19, 2017
As it turns out, that whole Joel-Embiid-minutes-restriction thing was a bunch of “f**king b*llsh*t” after all.
Earlier this week, Sixers head coach Brett Brown said he planned to keep Embiid’s minutes somewhere “in the teens” during Wednesday night’s opener against the Washington Wizards, much to the surprise, and four-letter-word displeasure, of Embiid.
Well, that’s not exactly how things played out in D.C. as the Sixers took one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams down to the wire. Through the first three quarters, Embiid was already over 21 minutes, more than many expected he’d play the entire night. But with the Sixers trailing down the stretch, Brown opted to let him play the final five minutes of the game.
In all, Embiid racked up 27 minutes in the 120-115 loss, finishing with 18 points, 13 rebounds and three assists. Following the game, the 23-year-old center felt differently about the minutes restriction.
Specifically, he didn’t think there was one.
Embiid says that it’s time to stop referring to his game plan as a minutes restriction. Simply says if he’s tired, he’ll sit.
— Jake Pavorsky (@JakePavorsky) October 19, 2017
While it may not be a hard cap on his total minutes, it was obvious throughout the game that Brown was being judicious with Embiid’s minutes. Had the score not been so close, there’s a good chance Embiid, who said he plans on being open with coaches about when he needs rest, never checks back in for those final five minutes.
However, the Sixers had a chance to win the game and Brown wanted to take advantage of that – and not playing down Embiid down the stretch would've said all you needed to know about the team's approach to this season.
It also would've likely angered their star center, at least if his comments earlier this week were any indication. Embiid wants to play, not just because he wants to be eligible for the incentives in his recently-inked max deal, but because he wants to win basketball games. Postseason basketball games.
Before this young nucleus can take that next step, they're going to need to experience losses like the one they suffered on Wednesday night. They need to be the ones with the ball in the game's defining moments, not on the bench watching.
It's going to be a difficult balancing act for the Sixers this season, one that may suffer some rough patches at times with Brown needing to somehow do what's best for this season, the future, their superstar's feelings, and his physical health – all while trying to coach basketball games and develop a pair of No. 1 overall picks.
Despite the outcome in their opener, it's hard to argue with the way Brown handled it. It shows he's willing to adjust the gameplan based on what he thinks is best for the team on any given night.
And who's going to complain about getting to watch more Embiid – so what if it wasn't quite what you were expecting? It even caught Embiid off guard.
“I was surprised,” Embiid told reporters after the game. “I was expecting way less than that, but it just shows you they trust me.”
You're saying they trust ... The Process?
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