76ers star Embiid feared his season was done
After suffering a leg injury last month, Joel Emiid thought his season was over, but the Philadelphia 76ers center scored 24 in his return last night
Joel Embiid confessed he thought his season was done after returning from a 10-game injury lay-off in the Philadelphia 76ers' 122-113 beating of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Philly back to looking like one of the faovrites in the East
Last month, Embiid crumbled to the floor after his leg buckled during the third quarter of the 76ers' beating of the Washington Wizards.
Fortunately for Embiid and Philadelphia the issue was not as bad as he first feared and he has been recovering from bone bruising to his left knee.
76ers responded without Embiid
The team rallied in his absence by going 7-3 in that timeframe and Embiid reflected on that night in Washington.
"When I got hurt, and was laying on the floor in Washington, honestly, I thought I was done," Embiid said.
Embiid: "Honestly I thought I was done"
"I thought my season was done. The pain, how bad it was hurting, I just knew that it was something worse than we saw after.
"I was just crying and asking myself, 'Why me? Why does it always happen to me? When everything seems to be going well with the team and myself, something always has to happen'."
There were positives to take for Embiid, who finished with 24 points, eight rebounds and two assists in the win.
Embiid still has to shake of the cob webs
But there was, as perhaps you would expect, a little rust. By the end of the contest, he had four turnovers, was six for 14 from the field and missed with each of his four three-point attempts.
Embiid said part of the problem was the knee brace he was wearing and is confident his rhythm will return in time.
"Defensively, it's easy. I've got to just be myself. Block shots and protect the paint, not let anything get in there," he added.
"But offensively, I'm going to kind of blame the brace I was wearing. It just felt like I just didn't have the rhythm all game. It felt like I had an itch on my shot, every single shot. It wasn't smooth.
Still searching for rhythm offensively
"I had no rhythm. I hate the brace and that was part of it.
"I just have to get used to it, play with it and hope it keeps getting better. But offensively, I had way too many turnovers."
The 76ers and the Brooklyn Nets are neck and neck with 34-15 records in the Eastern Conference.