Draymond GreenForward, Golden State Warriors

Draymond Green dismisses Joel Embiid & 76ers as NBA Finals contenders | Sixers-Thunder Reaction

3 Apr 2024 · 1 min

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1:23

In the inaugural episode of the Draymond Green Show, Draymond Green analyzes Joel Embiid's return to the Philadelphia 76ers after a two‑month meniscus injury. He recaps Embiid's stat line (24 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 6 turnovers in 29 minutes) and notes the surprising appearance of a large knee brace. Green highlights the 76ers' 14‑27 record without Embiid and their current 41‑35 standing, arguing that the team's championship odds are now very slim. He critiques the roster moves made at the trade deadline as a sign the franchise is shifting focus to the next season, and speculates that Embiid may be using the games to tune up for the Olympics. Green discusses the typical post‑injury adjustment period, comparing it to his own experience, and suggests that while Embiid’s scoring ability remains, his overall game may need time to normalize. Overall, Green expresses skepticism about the 76ers' ability to contend this season while remaining optimistic about Embiid’s health and future performance.

Chapters

Welcome to the brand new Draymond Green Show YouTube channel. Hit subscribe so you don't miss out on any of our content. Joel Embiid returned from a 2-month absence and he played 29 minutes, had 24, 6 boards, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 6 turnovers. Um, I must say I was very shocked for Joel to come back. And the reason I was very shocked is come back in Game 76 after missing 30 games or whatever. That number was. And they're now 41-35. And I saw something last night that said their record is 14-27 without Joel. Meaning the chances that that team is gonna win a championship is very slim. And to me, some of the moves they made at the deadline was kind of like, you know what, we throwing in the towel. This season ain't gonna work out. Let's start focusing on next year. And to see Joel come back with that big knee brace on was pretty surprising to me. Needless to say, what I do know is Joel just love playing basketball. So any chance that Joel can play basketball, he gonna play basketball. But I was pretty shocked to see Joe come back off the meniscus injury at this point in the season where they're now in the play-in spot and like—
Yeah.
I don't necessarily think they have the roster to compete at a high level, you know? So it could be just kind of his way of tuning up for the Olympics. I don't know. But I was shocked by that. Nonetheless, he looked good. And obviously you can see some of his movements are off and like little ginger going this way and stopping and different things like that, which all takes time. I did see something Joel said in his interview. Uh, which was interesting to me. He said this will be the hardest game I had, and I disagree with that because when you come back from injury, you kind of have a couple games where you like this, and then you tank for like a couple, 2, 3 games because it's no longer the adrenaline, right? Like, it's not— now you just playing off of— and Joel's great, so like maybe Joel won't go through the same thing I went through and most people go through. And it's not even necessarily that his game will go through that because Joel's a scorer, he's going to score the basketball, but he'll feel it. And so even if it doesn't show to you necessarily, he'll feel it. 'Cause you kind of like hit this bull and then you crash for a minute and then you start to level out. And so it'll be interesting to see how he's feeling, you know, moving on, you know, the next 3 games or so, how that starts to change and where that goes. But I was very, very surprised to see them or see him back out on the floor. Nonetheless, always great to have the greats on the floor. Yes, sir.
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