Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid injuries are untimely

Optics over basketball

The pattern is obvious: short-term gains are valued much more than long-term success with this organization, and it comes from above the players and coaching staff.

Of course Simmons and Embiid are going to say they’re fine; they want to be out there, and they should want to fight through nicks and pain. That mentality is how one gets to the pros. But team doctors exist as a check against that, and the Philadelphia 76ers’ carousel of medical professionals over the past few years is evident that they don’t know what types of people to hire.

Are the Sixers in win-now mode? Absolutely; you don’t max Tobias Harris and sign Al Horford to play the long game. But as an organization, you also have no excuse to compromise the future of a franchise pillar for a game in February, no matter the opponent.

Speaking of Harris and Horford, they are guaranteed for a combined $289 million over the next few years. How did they step up without Embiid and Simmons in Cleveland? By combining for just 21 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Embiid can roll out of bed and drop 21 and 10 on his own.

The 2019-20 Philadelphia 76ers are the most confusing team in the league. They have quality wins against the top four seeds in each conference, but also have a worse record away from home than the New York Knicks. With so many wins of high magnitude and so many losses of bewilderment, it’s caused many to weigh certain games over others.

And to a degree this makes sense; winning the season series with a team on pace for 70 dubs is no small feat. But at the same time, two of Milwaukee’s 16 losses last season were at the hands of the Phoenix Suns, who only won 17 other games. When it comes to seeding, a thing Philly of all teams should be especially worried about, every game counts the same.

Which speaks to a larger point. Ever since Sam Hinkie was demoted from his lead role as an executive, the Philadelphia 76ers have been all about perception. From trading two second-rounders for a few months of Ish Smith, to trading a high second-rounder just to get rid of Jahlil Okafor, to trading up for Markelle Fultz despite a horrible pre-draft workout, this front office has done a lot of playing to the crowd.

Even though Elton Brand is technically the head honcho, the front office supporting him is still Bryan Colangelo’s handpicked crew. Only when Colangelo made burner accounts on Twitter was he (and he alone) ousted. And when it comes to asset and injury management, not much has changed.

While Hinkie’s regime with the Philadelphia 76ers was frustratingly unpredictable to outsiders, it never would have let Embiid or Simmons play through injuries like that. Nor would it have sold off second rounders for extra money in ownership’s pockets, doubled down on the Jimmy Butler error (a worthwhile risk) by trading everything for Tobias Harris (not worthwhile), or shown its love for Matisse Thybulle so loudly that it was forced to trade up for him.

This is not like a toxic relationship where someone says “my ex would never have done that.” These are crucial mistakes that the organization may not recover from for several years. Situations like Fultz’s shoulder and Butler causing feuds are hard to predict, no doubt. But other organizations, such as the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets, have pivoted from setbacks like these much better than the Sixers.

There is still time for this to work out. The Philadelphia 76ers’ size will create matchup issues in the playoffs, and the rotation is filled with guys who can hang defensively. But they are a meager 13-12 with a -1.2 Net Rating since that Christmas Day win over the Bucks. If either Embiid or Simmons (or, *shudders*, both) miss the bulk of the last seven weeks, how are they supposed to figure it out as a unit?