Joel Embiid’s playoff hopes are a pipe dream now, but not for long

The Philadelphia 76ers have won four of their last five games, and their rookie big man Joel Embiid feels his team can make a run at the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

“I think we’ve improved a lot,” Embiid told reporters after the Sixers’ Sunday win over Brooklym, via CSN Philly’s Jessica Camerato. “We’ve been playing good basketball, we’ve been winning games, and I don’t know, we’re like seven or eight games out of the playoffs, so we have a chance. We’re learning, we’re going together, learning how to play with each other and things are going good now.

“I look at it. I think we’re like seven or eight games from eighth place, so I think that’s a goal. I think we have a chance. We’ve been hot lately. We’ve won three out of four lately, so I look at it and I think we have a chance. We’re really figuring things out. We’re starting to learn how to win games.”

When T.J. McConnell hit a turnaround fadeaway jump shot over Kristaps Porzingis’ outstretched arms to give the 76ers a 98-97 win over the New York Knicks on Wednesday, Embiid reacted the only way he knew how — over the top.

The 22-year-old center darted down the court with 40-yard dash speed before strangling his point guard with hands of joy. He then celebrated by dancing with Sixers cheerleaders after the game.

Embiid has proven to be a once-in-a-generation talent. Philadelphia’s rookie has revitalized the bottom-dwelling franchise mired in mediocrity, averaging 19.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game.

The Sixers already have more wins (11) than they had all of last season (10).

Embiid’s player efficiency rating of 23.4 is better than All-Stars like Damian Lillard, Kevin Love, and John Wall. In fact, Embiid could very well be on his way to becoming the first rookie selected to the All-Star game since Blake Griffin did was in 2011 — a list littered with Hall of Fame NBA big men like Yao Ming, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Dikembe Mutombo, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, and Hakeem Olajuwon.

But Philadephia isn’t nearly as impressive as its rookie big man. And while Embiid’s comments about making the playoffs aren’t too far off, they may have come far too soon.

Philadelphia’s recent success features wins over Denver (14-23), Minnesota (13-26), New York (17-22), and a league-worst Brooklyn (8-29), along with a surprisingly close four-point loss to Boston (24-15).

Prior to their streak, the Sixers lost 14 of 17 games. They haven’t beaten a plus-.500 team yet this season.

Breaking even or even flirting with a 41-41 record looks like it’ll be enough to make the playoffs in the East this season. For the 76ers to finish .500, they’d have to win 30 of their next 46 games.

Only 21 of those 46 games are against sub-.500 opponents, and only the Heat and Nets have worse records than Philadelphia. The Sixers have to play Milwaukee four times, each; the Spurs, Clippers, Warriors, Hornets, and Hawks twice; and see the Cavaliers, Rockets and Celtics one more time.

Playoffs or not, this is a happy time for Embiid and 76ers fans.

The NBA has never seen a player do the things Embiid has done given his minutes restriction. Embiid has scored 20 or more points in seven consecutive games despite playing fewer than 30 minutes in each of them. According to Elias Sports Bureau, that’s the longest streak of its kind in more than 65 years, when the league first began tracking minutes played.

Philadelphia is one of the league’s better defensive teams when their rookie center is on the floor. The Sixers break even in net rating, scoring and allowing 101.1 points per 100 possessions with Embiid in the game. With him on the bench, the get outscored by 10.9 points per 100 possessions.

If Embiid played 48 minutes at the same level he plays his 25.1 per game, the Sixers’ 101.1 defensive efficiency rating would rank No. 1 in the league.

So when and if Philly’s doctors decide to lift Embiid’s minutes restriction, they should indeed win more games this season.

Philadelphia’s future promise comes without having seen No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons, who injured his foot during the preseason, take the floor. The Sixers also have a front court logjam, with both Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor competing for minutes Embiid’s already sopped up.

Flipping one or both of Noel and Okafor could give the 76ers some veteran talent to boost its young roster.

Embiid’s playoff decree is of similar nature to Karl-Anthony Towns absorbing the brunt of the blame for his Timberwolves losses earlier this season. The 22-year-old big man has taken the lead, and Philadelphia will be building around him in the years to come. He, and not Simmons, is the 76ers’ franchise player.

His playoff aspirations are a long shot this year, given the Sixers’ track record (or lack thereof) against plus-.500 opponents and upcoming schedule. But if anything’s certain, it’s this: Philadelphia is coming, and Embiid is leading the charge.

Simmons is tabbed as a LeBron James-like talent, and he’s already working on pumping the ball into the low post.

When he returns to the floor, expect to see the same facilitating point-forward Sixers fans saw in his Summer League debut.

Promising Euroleague draft and stash Dario Saric came to the NBA this year and has averaged 9.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in his rookie season. Philadelphia is on pace to have at least one top five pick in a draft class chock full of quality point guards like Malik Monk, Dennis Smith, Jr., and Markelle Fultz. They own the right to swap with the Kings if Sacramento leaps up in the lottery and also own the Lakers’ pick should it fall below the top three.

But at the core of it all is a dominant center impacting the game on every end of the floor. And once his minutes restriction is lifted, Joel Embiid’s playoff hopes may not be over the top.

He just needs to continue to trust the process.