Do LeBron, Lakers need to be more like Clippers?

Joel Embiid was candid about his status following the Philadelphia 76ers blowout home loss to the Boston Celtics. Embiid said he won’t get back to being himself until he has further surgery to “fix the problem” with his ailing left knee.

“The way I was playing a year ago is not the way I’m playing right now,” Embiid said after the loss to Boston. “It sucks. … I probably need to fix the problem, and then I’ll be back at that level. But it’s hard to have trust when you’re not yourself.”

Embiid said the time off before and during the All-Star break helped “a little bit”, but that he’s “still managing it” with his knee. The former MVP said that he plans to keep playing, because he thinks he can still have a positive impact for the Sixers.

“I’m not as dominant as I was a couple of months ago, but that doesn’t mean I still can’t have a lot of impact on the game,” Embiid said. “Just me being out there, I think, helps a lot. My presence, my ability to attract double-teams, get guys more shots.

“It’s just tough because you know you can do so much more. But there’s no excuses. It’s just the way it is. You just have to find ways to figure it out and get better.”

The Ringer has hired Zach Lowe, who was laid off by ESPN last September shortly before the start of the 24-25 NBA season. Lowe had been with ESPN for 12 years as he had joined Grantland following his stint at Sports Illustrated.

Bill Simmons, who recently signed an extension with The Ringer’s parent company Spotify, made the announcement on his own podcast. Simmons and Lowe worked together at Grantland and the pair have appeared on each other’s podcasts several times over the past decade.

Lowe will begin podcasting for The Ringer with this week ahead of the start of the 2025 NBA playoffs.

Lowe was reportedly making more than $1 million per year on his contract with ESPN.

The Ringer has also hired former ESPN talent over the past few months such as Todd McShay, Kirk Goldsberry and David Jacoby.