Joel Embiid speaks about his plan to stay healthy, more reports from Day 3 of camp

Joel Embiid still hasn’t scrimmaged yet, but he said Thursday that it’s all part of his plan to be healthy for the postseason. That and more reports from the Bahamas.

There is no Sixers storyline more important than the health of Joel Embiid.

It’s great that Tyrese Maxey is taking on more of a leadership role, that Paul George is fitting in seamlessly, that Jared McCain and Guerschon Yabusele have stood out at camp.

But none of it matters if the big fella isn’t healthy when it matters most.

Embiid spoke for the first time at training camp Thursday in the Bahamas. Let’s dive into what he had to say to those reporting on the ground.

The Plan

Embiid didn’t mince words at media day. The plan is for him to listen to the medical staff and team and get to the postseason as healthy as possible. Three days into training camp and he has yet to scrimmage. Given his knee injury last season and his run at the Olympics, it makes sense to not rush into things.

On Thursday, Embiid talked in even stronger terms about the plan to manage his health this season.

Embiid is absolutely his own worst enemy in these spots. Who could forget the dreadful night he tore his meniscus after the Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga landed on his left knee? Embiid, who had been dealing with knee soreness for a while before that night, never looked like himself in that game. It was clear he should’ve never been on the floor.

It’s refreshing to hear him to take this stance. Embiid was actually pretty good during the Sixers’ first-round series loss to the Knicks — especially when you consider he was dealing with that bulky knee brace and Bells Palsy affecting his face. It would make sense if Embiid saw that series as the last straw for himself.

The hope is Maxey, like he said in the video above, will be one of the people in his ear. Same goes for George, who certainly understands the importance of star players remaining healthy after spending the last five seasons with Kawhi Leonard in L.A.

Again, nothing the Sixers do will matter if Embiid isn’t healthy when the games start to matter.

More praise for McCain

After practice Wednesday, head coach Nick Nurse, veteran Eric Gordon and Maxey were effusive in their praise of rookie Jared McCain.

Add Embiid as another impressed observer.

McCain shot the ball poorly in summer league, but was one of the best pure shooters in his draft class. He knocked down 41.4% of his threes at Duke and his shooting has been his best trait at each level. A few meaningless games in July shouldn’t change his outlook in that department.

But the fact that he’s turning heads with his overall game and toughness is huge. As mentioned Wednesday, McCain isn’t likely to see minutes to start the season, but the Sixers’ guard rotation skewing old and with his ability to make shots, he’s going to get opportunities.

The endorsement of the team’s best player is no small thing either.