Philadelphia Sixers big man Joel Embiid says he's fully healthy and ready to take the 2018 NBA season head on, but the team is still going to ease him into the lineup given his extensive injury history.
When asked by reporters how much Embiid would play in the team's season opener against the Washington Wizards tomorrow night, Sixers head coach Brett Brown said he didn't have a set number, but added, "somewhere like in the teens."
On Monday, the 23-year old center found Brown's minutes restriction to be "disappointing," but he further expanded on his thoughts today while speaking with reporters. In short, Embiid thinks his minutes restriction is fucking bullshit.
He told reporters, per ESPN,
"That's fucking bullshit. I wish I was playing more minutes," Embiid told reporters on Tuesday. "I think I'm ready. I think I'm ready for more than whatever number they have. I don't know. I wish I was playing more, but we're going to see how that goes."
Embiid, who signed a five-year $146.5 million extension a week ago, last played in a regular season game on January 27th before a left knee injury kept him out of action for Philly's final 37 games. Since being drafted by the Sixers in 2014, Embiid has played in just 31 games - all of which came last season. When active, Embiid averaged 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks despite playing just 25.4 minutes per game.
According to ESPN, the Sixers limited Embiid to just 15 minutes of action in each of the two preseason games he appeared in, and fans can expect much of the same, at least for the beginning of the regular season.
Per ESPN,
"There will be some minutes restrictions, but it's also a judgment of how is the game being played, not just looking at a rote, rigid number," Brown said.
That said, don't expect Embiid to take his minutes restriction quietly.
"I got a voice," Embiid told Philly.com on Monday. "They got to listen to me. ... If I feel great and my body feels great and my knee is fine, I should play 30 minutes or more. I definitely have my opinion on that.
"They are going to hear me. We are going to discuss it."