Sixers' Doc Rivers Offers Positive Update on Joel Embiid's Shape

Sixers head coach Doc Rivers weighs in on the kind of shape Joel Embiid is in this offseason.

Ever since he's been in the NBA, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has dealt with his fair share of injuries. One could say that injuries hold the big man back from reaching his full potential. 

While that could be certainly true, there's another argument that Embiid's struggles to stay in shape could play a part as well.

Over the last few offseasons, a lot of league-wide discussions surrounding Embiid regarded his conditioning. To no surprise, there's nothing different about this offseason as well. 

Since Embiid has spent the last few months training in private, nobody has really gotten a good look at what type of shape he's in.

Well, that changed on Sunday afternoon as the Sixers participated in the first team-wide training camp since last season. 

Unlike Brett Brown, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers admitted he isn't necessarily familiar with the narrative surrounding Embiid's conditioning. But on Sunday, Rivers discussed what he noticed out of Embiid during their first practice together.

"We just went over almost two and a half hours, and Joel took very few breaks," the Sixers head coach revealed. "That's a great sign. I mean, he stayed on the floor. You've never been in my practices, but players will tell you we don't break a lot. We go from action to action to action to action to action. I want our players to feel that and how quickly we go from one drill to another."

While Rivers did mention he wouldn't be too shocked if guys were slightly out of shape because of the long layoff, the Sixers head coach did mention he was surprised as to how in-shape a lot of the players were -- and Joel Embiid was no exception.

"We don't sit and talk a lot [in my practices], and that's new [for them], I'm sure it is," Rivers said. "So, the fact that [Embiid] didn't feel the need to take a lot of breaks is a good sign for us." 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_