Joel Embiid has been one of the best players in the league for the Philadelphia 76ers for the past half-decade. Unfortunately, the Sixers have repeatedly come up short in the playoffs throughout the Joel Embiid era, and they appear to be stuck in the dreaded no-man's land of second-round exits and occasional conference finals appearances that end up being non-competitive.
The biggest factor holding the Sixers back is Embiid’s health.
This is why the 76ers have invested significant time and resources into finding a capable backup center to give Embiid a breather without costing the team games. The team acquired Mo Bamba in the summer of 2023. As a former top-10 pick, Bamba could prove to be one of the best backup centers the Sixers have had since Embiid has been in town.
This year, Bamba has been effective in limited minutes. If Bamba can keep up his level of play while taking on more minutes, it could help the Sixers keep Embiid rested and healthy for the postseason.
Joel Embiid is Philadelphia’s most important player, but availability has been a problem
Joel Embiid is by far the most important player on the 76ers roster, but the big man has significant mileage on his body and has suffered serious injuries in almost every season since his debut — which was delayed two years due to foot injuries.
Some of these injuries were freak accidents. However, there is little doubt that Embiid’s body type and the way that he plays the game makes him more prone to injuries.
Embiid is 7-foot-2 and weighs more than 270 pounds and he is not shy about throwing his weight around and bullying opposing players on the court. He also hits the ground frequently (you can call it flopping if you want to, but sometimes when you are significantly bigger and stronger than your opponent, you have to embellish a bit to get the refs to give you a whistle), and when you weigh as much as Embiid does, every time you crash to the floor you put extra stress on your body compared to a smaller guard or forward.
While it is normal for a team to experience a drop in play when their best player goes to the bench, the 76ers over the years have seen a significantly steeper decline than most teams, especially most contenders. This decline is demonstrated through both advanced statistics and the eye test.
The Sixers don’t need a superstar when Embiid sits, but they need somebody who can protect the rim defensively and help other defenders while also rebounding on both ends of the court and consistently scoring in the paint.
Embiid can’t continue to play so many minutes
The Sixers have been stuck with a dilemma in recent seasons: They have to limit the number of minutes and games Embiid plays in order to give him the best shot at being healthy for the postseason, but they also need him to play in enough games to have a good enough record to earn home-court advantage in the playoffs.
Embiid’s health and injury history puts the Sixers in a unique position. While a running mate is very important (and Tyrese Maxey has emerged to fill that role quite nicely in the early part of this season), a backup center to give Embiid a breather and nights off might be even more essential to Philadelphia's championship hopes than the other three spots in the starting lineup.
Indeed, Philadelphia has tried for years to find somebody to consistently and reliably spell Embiid. Unfortunately for the Sixers, they always seem to run into the same problem. Whenever Embiid goes to the bench, there is such a dropoff in play that the team looks completely unrecognizable.
From Jahlil Okafor and Richaun Holmes to household names like Andre Drummond and DeAndre Jordan, the Sixers have continually struggled to make things work on both ends of the court without Embiid. There was even the failed experiment with Al Horford, who played alongside Embiid and also saw minutes at backup center when Embiid was getting a breather.
A tale of two teams
The story has been much the same for the Sixers in the Joel Embiid era, even throughout different iterations of the roster. You have the Sixers with Embiid on the court, where they look like the most dominant team in the league and are borderline unstoppable, and then you have the Sixers without Embiid on the court, where they look completely incompetent, go long stretches without scoring while giving up bucket after bucket on the defensive end, and generally look like they would struggle to beat one of the better college teams.
Bamba is an ideal backup
In Mo Bamba, the Sixers may have finally found the ideal Embiid backup. Bamba is an energetic athlete who plays a physical style of basketball. He is an excellent shot blocker and rebounder on both ends of the court, which is just what the Sixers need. Offensively, he won’t stretch the floor the same way that Embiid does, but when he gets good positioning near the bucket he can score consistently.
Load management for Embiid
For the Sixers, it isn’t just staying competitive in non-Embiid minutes. Sure, Embiid isn’t the type of guy who should be playing 40 minutes a night, but he also shouldn’t be playing in every game either.
Due to his body type and physical style of play, it is important to give Embiid nights off and keep him as rested and healthy as possible for a deep playoff run. However, the team needs to make sure they have somebody who can handle an increased workload and keep the team competitive when Embiid has the night off.
Bamba can be that guy, and he can help the team win while also protecting the health of Philadelphia’s most important player. That is why Mo Bamba holds the key to the Sixers’ title hopes.
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