Last year, the Sixers finished the season with the 7th seed in the Easter conference. Earlier in the season, they projected to finish with a much higher seed since they went 31-8 in games with Joel Embiid. Due to injury, Embiid missed most of the season so they finished with a 47-35 record. Now that Embiid wants to prioritize rest and load management, what kind of record can we expect them to have?
Guaranteed Games without Embiid
Embiid has stated that he will not play in back to backs ever in his career. This season the Sixers have 15 back to back games scheduled, and Embiid is already slated to miss the first three games. That totals up to 64 games played by itself with no additional injuries/soreness. We know Embiid will not stay healthy even with that limited schedule. Realistically, Embiid will probably miss another 10-15 games due to injuries and such. Maybe more if this knee thing is worse than their saying (which is extremely possible – maybe likely). Combining that with the back to backs brings us to around 57 games this season without any serious injuries. That’s a lot of games.
How Will They Play Without Embiid?
Like I said, the Sixers went 31-8 in the 39 games with him last year. That averages out to a record of 61-21 which would have put them at the two seed in the East.
That being said, without Embiid, they went 16-27 in games without them. This resulted in them finishing with the seventh seed and almost missing the playoffs.
If we translate that winning percentage (41.8%) into the 25 games that Embiid will hypothetically miss, and the 57 games that he hopefully plays in with last year’s percentage (74.2%), they would total up to a record of 52-30. That also would have put them at second in the conference last year.
Obviously that is hypothetical math, but if they do the exact same thing as last year they will still contend heavily in the standings. They should do even better than that.
Much Improved Roster
With the signing of Paul George, Caleb Martin, Guerschon Yabusele, Andre Drummond, and the (almost just as beneficial) loss of Tobias Harris, the Sixers should do better than they last year in games without Embiid. George specifically should be able to alleviate a lot of pressure on Embiid which could keep him healthier to play more games. If that happens, then the Sixers should be able to compete for a number one seed this season.
The post What to Expect From Sixers’ Season appeared first on Philadelphia Sports Nation.