Jan 24, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) grabs his leg after falling to the floor on a play against the New York Knicks during the fourth quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
There is very little mystery as to the biggest need for the Sixers to reach their goals in the final 28 games of the season after the All-Star break.
The main goal being a climb in the Eastern Conference standings, where they currently find themselves at the sixth seed, with a chance to perhaps move into the upper half of playoff contenders. Offensive and defensive cohesiveness and a solidified rotation are also high on the list of coach Nick Nurse, whose team returns to play on Thursday when they host the Atlanta Hawks.
Everything, however, depends on the health of Joel Embiid. As it has for so many years and as it will continue to be as long as he is pulling that Philadelphia jersey over his head before games. The right knee soreness that the team has managed throughout the season and has cost them 23 games of his services, will probably never end, certainly not this season.
The schedule doesn't really favor Embiid's availability down the stretch as the Sixers have six back-to-backs remaining and another trip to the West Coast.
Joel Embiid makes a wild shot baiting the foul call, and the entire bench joins in on taunting the Lakers home crowd (with replays)
It is simply hilarious.
76ers and Lakers commentaries
Also on Youtube:https://t.co/DN9PoIiG5l pic.twitter.com/UmOlts7uru
There was a time, about a month ago when the team was hosting the Indiana Pacers, that it appeared Embiid could sit the final quarter in what became a nine-point win, and may have been ready to play the next night against the Phoenix Suns. At the time, Embiid was moving as fluid as he had over the past couple of seasons. His minutes seemed to be mounting without hesitation. The thought entered my head that, had he not gone back into the game with five minutes to go, perhaps we'd have seen him in back-to-back games. That didn't happen and it may have been the closest it ever will.
It appears he will miss at least six more games this season. Add to that the team finishes a three-game road trip in Utah on March 21 then host Oklahoma City two days later. It's possible that is a rest management night, also for Embiid.
When the team is missing it's best player, the onus of winning games then shifts almost solely to the backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, and that presents some problems also.
Maxey has been nothing short of spectacular this season, currently sitting at sixth in the league in scoring at 28.9 a game. He has upped his playmaking ability by evidence of this 6.8 assists a game and has improved at the defensive end averaging two steals a game, good for third in the league.
Edgecombe has been everything the Sixers could have possibly asked for with the third pick. His athletic ability is on display nightly, with hard drives to the basket and an uncanny ability to follow shots with jaw-dropping dunks. He may be the best perimeter defender the team has, often drawing the other team's best scorer and his ability to want to take and often make big shots late in a game has become expected.
But when Embiid is absent, times get really tough on the guards. Teams are constantly doubling Maxey now, often jumping him as soon as he passes half-court. Or, they will wait until he runs a high pick-and-roll with the ball in his hands and both defenders will go after him.
Maxi Kleber sticking with Tyrese Maxey multiple times on switches in 2026 was not on my bingo card pic.twitter.com/je5klAHRt5
It's a no-brainer for defenses, especially when you consider that picker many times is Adem Bona, who is limited offensively to say the least. It makes Maxey work extra hard to either get his shot or start the offense, not good for legs that are averaging close to 39 minutes a game.
Speaking of legs, Edgecombe's have appeared to become a bit tired of late, which is so common for rookies this time of the year. For the past 10 games, his shot has suffered (38.3 percent from the floor, 28.8 percent from three). His shots are often short, a sure sign of fatigue.
And, with the trade of Jared McCain, Nurse really only has one guard at his disposal to bring off the bench in Quentin Grimes. A twisted ankle or any type of injury to any of those three means Kyle Lowry is next man up.
"He's already played way more games than he's ever played in his life in a real season," said Nurse of Edgecombe. "I think you're going to see that in a rookie almost all the time, a little bit. Whether they start super slow and not quite figure out the speed of the NBA at first, which he didn't do. He's obviously logging a lot of minutes, which we love. But I think it's more of just the up and down rookie season more than anything. He still makes incredibly athletic plays each and every night. Nothing wrong with him physically, all that kind of stuff."
Yeah the Sixers might be down nearly 20 points but look at this shot from the rookie VJ Edgecombe 🤩 pic.twitter.com/cqFWj2L3AG
Though he is participating in All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, playing in the Rising Stars challenge Friday, the break couldn't have come at a better time for Edgecombe. His backcourt mate in Maxey is also there, of course, competing in Saturday's three-point contest and starting in Sunday's game.
"I'm going to find the time to relax," said Maxey. "I don't have to do much until I shoot on Saturday. The media and all that, that's not (bad). I just want to get out there and just chill. Sit in my hotel room and relax, get some good weather in the couple days before we play. I'm going to get my relaxation in, and I'll be ready to go by Thursday.
"I'm pretty good. This break will be great for me. Really, really, really good for me. I need some time to just kind of reset, not just physically but mentally as well and get my mind prepared for this stretch that we're about to have. And it's going to be a good stretch for us. I think we have some good games coming up."
They'll need them to meet their goals.
