Why Joel Embiid believes Big 3 with Paul George, Tyrese Maxey will keep him healthy
07/08/2024 12:34 PM
The Philadelphia 76ers’ star trio of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George is going to be dominant and could lead the Sixers to a deep playoff run…if they manage to stay healthy. That's the major caveat with the NBA’s newest Big 3.
Embiid and George both have lengthy histories of sustaining injuries that derail their effectiveness and availability by the end of the season. Even though Maxey has only dealt with a few injuries here and there throughout his career and George is coming off his healthiest season in years, everyone will be watching to see if the 30-year-old Embiid and 34-year-old George can avoid injury. Even just one of them going down for the count for a while can be really rough for Philly, though adding an additional star should prevent the sharp plummet down the standings that occurred last season during Embiid’s injury rehab.
In an interview with Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Embiid explained that having two stars can ease his workload. Even if he doesn't have the gaudy stats he once did, being able to lean on his co-stars means he won't have to overly exert himself.
"It makes me excited, because I think that actually might keep me healthy," Embiid said to ESPN. "I don’t have to exert myself and make sure I have to have 30, 40 every single night for us to win, and I can let them do their thing…There will be some nights where they got it going and that’s OK … but if I have 10 or 15 [points], yeah that’s fine. But there’s going to be some nights like that, and then there’s also going to be some nights where I got it going. So it all evens out at the end of the day. But I think the goal is just to allow those guys to just be themselves so I don’t have to … in the playoffs, that’s another story. Now we can get going. But in a regular season, just allow them to feel good about themselves and just play well."
Embiid’s ability to dominate speaks for itself but the 76ers have indeed been too reliant on him over the years. Since he misses so much time and carries so much value as their defensive anchor and primary rebounder, being able to play off of two All-Stars will be huge for him.
Joel Embiid excited to form Big 3 on 76ers with Tyrese Maxey, Paul George
Embiid spoke previously about how, although adding George is exciting, the 76ers have to see how it looks on the court. The fit with a defense-smashing scorer like Embiid and two elite shooters is easy to see but George has never played with either of Philly's homegrown stars before. It will take some time for George to feel comfortable on his new team. Once he does, though, the results could be spectacular.
Health will also be a concern for Joel Embiid after he plays in the Olympics for the first time. While he does benefit more from staying in game shape than he does resting and getting back into the swing of things more abruptly, there's always some risk involved when he’s on the court. Being around the stars of Team USA and the extremely competitive environment on the international stage will do him plenty of good, though.
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