Ex-Celtics Forward Urges Joel Embiid To Tap Out Before Playoffs

Joel Embiid underwent a 29-game absence from the Philadelphia 76ers, recovering from a left knee injury and marking the making of another year being the little brother of the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference.

As the league's reigning MVP recipient, Embiid and the Sixers are far from a guaranteed contender this season. Philadelphia sits a mediocre 44-35 as the No. 7 seed, performs nearly identically at home (22-16) and on the road (22-19), and has gone 1-7 against the Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks -- the top two seeds in the conference. So... throwing a limping Embiid into another daunting playoff run with little to no optimism might not be the best idea.

Ex-NBA All-Star Rasheed Wallace, in fact, believes there's zero reason to test Embiid's knee in the playoffs.

"God forbid, you in the playoffs, you in a heated battle, let's say with our nemesis the Celtics, and then things don't go right with your knee," Wallace said on the "Gil's Arena" podcast. "Now, what's the first thing they gonna say? 'Ahh see, y'all should've shut him down. See, y'all wanna play him. We ain't got nothing to play for, this and that.' Nah, (the Sixers) ain't got that team this year to go out there and for him to risk it in my opinion."

Last season, Embiid and the Sixers went through a similar situation, going head-to-head against the Celtics for a seven-game semifinal series while recovering from a sprained knee injury. That, of course, hampered Embiid's aggressiveness and made Philadelphia's playoff exit inevitable.

The difference between a fresh, healthy Embiid and a hobbling damaged goods version of the seven-time All-Star is staggering. Without Embiid, the Sixers were one of the weakest teams in the East, going 11-18 with the second-worst shooting percentage (44.6%) through that span.

In other words, Embiid (once again) doesn't have much to work with in the City of Brotherly Love, so trusting the process isn't easy. Especially when watching the Celtics -- a possible playoff competitor -- rely on their depth much easier, going undefeated with two or more starters sidelined and limiting every losing skit to no longer than two games.

That's a tough pill to swallow, but beats the potential of suffering another major setback heading into Philadelphia's offseason.