On Sunday, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse addressed Joel Embiid’s recent injury scare, saying the superstar center told him that his left knee felt “pretty good.”
Nick Nurse says Joel Embiid’s leg is doing “pretty good” today after talking to the big man this morning. Also answered a question about his eye: pic.twitter.com/0rcl17Rf6t
— PHLY Sixers (@PHLY_Sixers) April 21, 2024
Sixers ‘Warrior’ Gets Game 2 Update After Injury Scare
On Saturday, Embiid appeared to re-injure his surgically-repaired left knee with less than three minutes remaining in the first half when he landed awkwardly after a dunk.
There was no excessive contact, his knee just seemed to buckle under his weight. After lying down on the court for a few moments, the 29-year-old walked gingerly back to the locker room before returning in the second half.
— Gonzalo Vázquez (@GVazquezNY) April 20, 2024
Finishing the game with 29 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals, Embiid was particularly productive.
However, Embiid shot just 8-22 from the field and 2-8 from 3. He went just 2-11 from the field and 1-5 from 3 in the second half. Though New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson played him well with his 7-foot frame, Embiid was also statuesque. A Cameroonian gargoyle.
Now listed as questionable for Game 2 of their First Round matchup against the Knicks due to “left knee injury recovery” (per The Athletic’s Fred Katz), Embiid may not be seen until Game 3.
Should Joel Embiid Shut it Down?
The Sixers will go as far as Embiid takes them. If that has to be on one knee, then so be it.
“He’s really a warrior, and he’s battling,” Nurse says, per The Inquirer’s Keith Pompey. “I think he absolutely wants to play.”
The reigning league MVP, Embiid was limited to 39 games this season, undergoing knee surgery in early February. A 7-foot-0 and nearly 300-pound center capable of scoring from every area of the court, he’s managed to put up stellar stat lines even after his return.
In the five regular season games that he played in preparation for the upcoming postseason run, he averaged 30.4 points per game on 49.5 percent shooting from the field and 48.1 percent shooting from 3. An imposing figure on the interior, he also averaged 9.2 points and 1.2 blocks per game.
Players like Embiid don’t just grow on trees. He’s a generational talent who defies the norm, possessing guard skills that a player his size shouldn’t. Yet, he’s a mountain of a man and knows it. In many ways, his game is reminiscent of fellow African native Hakeem Olajuwon.
Like Olajuwon, Embiid can also expect to be inducted into the Hall of Fame when his playing career is over. Nonetheless, that nomination is still years away. In the present, Embiid has to decide how to approach the remainder of the postseason.
Shutting it down early will preserve his body, allowing him to come back at full strength next season. However, nothing is guaranteed, from his health to another playoff run. As a result, Embiid could look to strike while the iron’s hot, taking advantage of a league that continues to have more parity than usual.
