PHILADELPHIA — As Joel Embiid looks to get himself ready for the playoffs, the Philadelphia 76ers center has to keep working on his conditioning.
Embiid played almost 36 minutes in the 76ers' win over the Detroit Pistons, the most he has played since returning from his meniscus injury. He dominated for most of his time on the court, racking up 37 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocks.
Still, the big man is looking to get his conditioning level back up. Getting back to his typical playing time is a major step in the right direction.
“It was okay,” Embiid said. “Third quarter, I was starting to feel it and we made our run and then I just told myself this is the moment to push it. Perfect time: game tight, coming back, we were only up three or four at that time and that was the perfect time to push. I pushed and we were able to build the lead. It felt good to push through it.”
The 76ers could begin postseason play as early as Tuesday, April 16, when the play-in tournament begins. They have two more regular season games: home matchups against the Orlando Magic on Friday and Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. Embiid has two days to rest before playing the Magic, one of the Eastern Conference foes they still have a chance of leaping in the standings.
Joel Embiid working on conditioning ahead of postseason
Embiid has always been someone who has to play his way into game shape. After prolonged breaks, he typically needs to see some live action before he's back to full form. Missing over two months with a meniscus injury has left him playing catch-up as the regular season winds down.
The solution is simple: Embiid just needs to get games under his belt.
“Playing. Playing as many minutes as possible,” he said. “Those two games, tonight, over 30 minutes. The next one, I hope the game’s not close. But if it is, to go over that 35-minute mark. Try and get to 40 and then the last game of the season, same thing. Just keep trying to build up. I don’t have the luxury of doing things on off days because I gotta limit the load. But I just gotta use those games for that.”
Nick Nurse agreed with Embiid that his conditioning was just “okay.”
“I think he's still got some work to do on it. But we're getting there,” the 76ers head coach said. “We're just kinda slowly inching him up the ladder here, just a little bit more each game. But, yeah, I think he's still got a little work to do.”
The fact that Embiid needs more time on the court to get reacclimated is the silver lining to the 76ers being in the play-in game. Risking a playoff berth is a lot but with how good the team is with Embiid, Philly should be able to handle itself.
Still, the 76ers surely would prefer to wrap up the regular season with a top-six seed and have Embiid ready to go for the real playoffs.
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