“If I had to guess, I’d probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career.” With this one statement, Joel Embiid reflected on his past and hinted at what lies ahead. At 30, Embiid has established himself as a dominant offensive force, yet injuries have plagued his career. Over the past eight seasons, he has played only 433 of 637 regular-season games, missing a significant portion due to various ailments. While Embiid opts for caution moving forward, his former teammate, Mo Bamba, is taking a different approach.

Yesterday, the LA Clippers announced that Bamba is finally set to make his season debut. Acquired during the offseason, Bamba was sidelined by left knee soreness before the season began. Against the Jazz, he logged 15 minutes on the court and afterward discussed how the Clippers’ approach to his recovery differed from the 76ers. Unlike his former team, which allowed him to play through similar injuries, the Clippers prioritized his health and enforced restrictions. As a result, Bamba now feels ready to contribute at full strength.

“My knees, the doctor would say, are in the 90 percentile of healthy-looking knees. But I kept getting this pocket of fluid in my knee. And it was frustrating bc we couldn’t figure out why it was coming. Now we have it settled and a plan in place to kind of mitigate that” said Bamba. Given that he is still not out of the woods, the reporter then asked the player if his injury management plan involves him playing back-to-back games. To this, Bamba humorously replied “I am not Joe”. The shade at Embiid was enough to ignite laughter from the reporters too. Later, Bamba added “Nah, I’ll die on my shield if I have to, but there’s definitely a plan in place.”

“Injuries, illness, and bouts of ineffectiveness.” According to The Athletic reporter Law Murray, these three factors have hindered Mo Bamba’s availability in five of his six NBA seasons. If Bamba hoped the current season would shift this narrative, his recent knee ailment proved otherwise.

This injury-prone history is something Bamba shares with Joel Embiid. However, unlike Embiid, the now-Clippers center has chosen a different approach to managing his games. The Clippers, who managed a 7-7 record without him, are now feeling the impact of Kawhi Leonard and other key players’ absences. Any contribution Bamba can make would be a welcome boost to the team’s efforts.

Joel Embiid’s decision to avoid playing back-to-back games has sparked significant criticism. 2009 NBA champion Trevor Ariza called it a “selfish” move, suggesting it could damage Embiid’s leadership. “How do you build chemistry? How am I going to listen to you, telling me what to do, you not even f**g playing on a back-to-back… it f****s the locker room up too,” Ariza said. Whether influenced by such criticism or the precarious state of the 76ers, Embiid himself seems to have softened his stance on the matter.

“I’m a troll” – Joel Embiid revealed backtracking from ‘back-to-back’ decision after Knicks loss

Joel Embiid made his season debut a week ago, as the Philadelphia 76ers went up against the New York Knicks. The player was sidelined earlier due to left knee management. By the time he made his debut, his absence had already affected the franchise. The Philadelphia 76ers were holding a 2-7 win record. The player did his best to carry the offensive effort, but could only make 13 points in 26 minutes. Paul George and Jared McCain attempted to make a dent. Despite this, the Knicks took home the win by a 111-99 score. Embiid may have gotten convinced that his team has lost enough games. Therefore, he revealed during the post-game presser that he was reportedly trying to convince the 76ers to let him play against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

This was a complete reversal of the player’s decision to not play ‘Back-To-Back’ games. He realized this too. As a result, he stated, “I know I said I will never play back-to-backs, but I’m a troll.”

Despite the supposed promise, knee management forced the player to sit out the Cavaliers matchup too. While Joel Embiid may not be out of his injury troubles anytime soon, one can hope that Mo Bamba has better luck with his.