Сагсан бөмбөгийн ертөнцийг доргиосон энэхүү шийдвэр нь Леброн Жэймс аварга авах хамгийн өндөр магадлалтай гэж үзсэн багтаа нэгдсэн явдал болов. Хэдийгээр олон нийт түүнийг Майами эсвэл Кливлэнд рүү явна хэмээн таамаглаж байсан ч Филадельфи 76 гэнэтийн сонголт боллоо.
Леброн Жэймс 23 улирлын турш тоглохдоо бие бялдрын өндөр бэлтгэлээ хадгалсаар ирсэн ч 41 насандаа хуучин шигээ тэсрэлттэй тоглох боломжгүй болжээ. Өнгөрсөн улирлын үзүүлэлтүүдээс харахад тэрээр хамгаалалтад идэвхгүй хандах тохиолдол цөөнгүй байсан бөгөөд сүүлийн жилүүдэд бэртэл гэмтлийн улмаас олон тоглолтыг өнжиж байна.
Багийн гол төв Жоел Эмбийд ч мөн адил бэртлийн улмаас тогтвортой тоглолтыг үзүүлж чадахгүй байгаа нь Филадельфи 76-н хувьд томоохон эрсдэл юм. Шинэ бүрэлдэхүүнд Жэйлен Браун, ВЖ Эжкомб болон Тайриз Макси нар багтаж байгаа ч сэлгээний тоглогчдын нөөц хангалтгүй байна.
Хэрэв Леброн Жэймс болон Жоел Эмбийд нар эрүүл мэндээ бүрэн хадгалж чадахгүй бол амжилт гаргахад хүндрэлтэй байх болно. Ирэх улирлын хувьд залуу бүрэлдэхүүнтэй Сан-Антонио Спөрс илүү өндөр магадлалтай өрсөлдөгч байж мэдэх юм.
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Nov 27, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) talks with Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
There was a lot of hullabaloo last week when LeBron finally made his free agency decision and chose the Philadelphia 76ers, which was a surprise. Most people expected him to pick either Miami or Cleveland; in fact, Miami had already prepared a social media announcement, which was accidentally posted prematurely.
But it’s Philly, because, as always with James, it’s where he thinks he’s most likely to win a title. Is that going to happen?
Well, maybe, but the odds are against it. Let’s look.
First, there’s James himself. He’s played for 23 seasons already, and give him full credit: he’s done an amazing job of keeping himself in great shape, and still, at 41, remains a tremendous player.
But he’s not the player he once was. Last year, we saw several occasions when he just didn’t react on defense. He’s not nearly as explosive as he once was, and the brutal reality is that he will never be better than he was last season. Time catches up to everyone, even King James.
This is also important: He played 82 regular season games in 2017-18, but since then?
- 2018-19: 55 games
- 2019-20: 67 games
- 2020-21: 45 games
- 2021-22: 56 games
- 2022-23: 55 games
- 2023-24: 71 games
- 2024-25: 70 games
- 2025-26: 60 games
He missed more than a quarter of last season, and he’s missed plenty over the last eight seasons, as noted. But he’s not the biggest problem.
That would be Joel Embiid, who, at 32, has had even more problems.
Over the same period, here’s how his availability has been:
- 2018-19: 64 games
- 2019-20: 51 games
- 2020-21: 51 games
- 2021-22: 68 games
- 2022-23: 66 games
- 2023-24: 39 games
- 2024-25: 19 games
- 2025-26: 38 games
Now, bear in mind that in 2019-20, the season was limited by Covid, and no one played more than 67 games, but still, that’s not a great track record. And don’t forget that Embiid lost his first two seasons to injuries.
On the bright side, the Sixers now have Jaylen Brown, who has been outstanding for his entire career, VJ Edgecombe, who will really benefit from James’s experience, and Tyrese Maxey, who has really proven himself. That’s a great perimeter, but there’s a lot riding on James and Embiid staying healthy.
And if they don’t, who do they have to step in?
There’s not much on the bench.
If you were betting on next year, you’d probably be wise to look to the Spurs. They crashed hard against the Knicks in the finals, but their core is young, talented, and just got socked in the nose. They learned a lot from New York, and our guess is they’ll be highly motivated for another shot.
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