Kendrick Perkins drops truth bomb on Joel Embiid's season debut for Sixers

Yesterday at 07:48 PM

Kendrick Perkins got real on what he expects during Joel Embiid’s season debut against the New York Knicks. The Sixers star has been out the first nine games with both a knee injury and also due to suspension for an altercation with a reporter. Philadelphia is set to be without Tyrese Maxey, who is dealing with a hamstring injury, on Tuesday but will have Embiid and new addition Paul George available. With the Sixers sitting at 2-7, Perkins did not hold back on NBA Today on the importance of Embiid’s season debut.

“Joel Embiid has to come out and deliver, there’s no room for error… You cannot afford to waste his prime.”

It’s now or never for the Sixers to win an NBA championship

Philadelphia has had a very trying season so far. Joel Embiid and Paul George were unavailable during the open stretch due to injuries. In Paul George’s case, he dodged a bullet after hyperextending his knee during preseason. With Tyrese Maxey as the only available star during the first five games, the Sixers got off to a 1-4 start. It hasn’t gotten much better since Paul George’s debut, as the Sixers new star has struggled so far, only averaging 14.3 points per game on 38% from the field.

Adding back Joel Embiid is crucial for a team that does not want to fall too far back in the Eastern Conference race. Luckily for the Sixers, while the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers are pulling away in the East with the one and two seeds, the rest of the conference sits at .500 or below. So while Philadelphia has had a dismal start, they are only two and a half games from the three-seeded Indiana Pacers.

Therefore, the Sixers have plenty of time to get back into the playoff race while still being fresh for the postseason, which is the priority. Based on his comments on not playing back-to-backs, Joel Embiid wants to be healthy for the playoffs above all else. This statement, along with the free agent signing of George, makes this a championship-or-bust season for Philadelphia.

Embiid is now 30, while the former Clippers star is 34. This is by far the best roster for the Sixers since the heartbreaking second-round loss to the Toronto Raptors in 2019. Daryl Morey understood the risky plan he put into place when putting this team together. But that doesn’t mean that he, like Kendrick Perkins, doesn’t understand that if the Sixers don’t make a deep postseason run, jobs will be at stake.

The post Kendrick Perkins drops truth bomb on Joel Embiid’s season debut for Sixers appeared first on ClutchPoints.