Joel Embiid injury update: How serious is it? Will he be back for game 4 against the Nets?
If there’s been one noticeable trend in this year’s playoffs, it’s been injuries to the biggest and best players. The 76ers MVP candidate is the latest on the list.
In what turned out to be a rough and tumble third game of the series, the 76ers got win No. 3, but it was not without flagrant fouls, skirmishes and an injury to the team’s biggest star. Will he be back in time for Game 4 and if not when?
Joel Embiid suffers knee injury
Assuming you caught Game 3 of the series between the Nets and the 76ers, then you would have seen center Joel Embiid suffering a problem with his right knee. Indeed, Embiid is the latest on a growing list of injured players in the playoffs, including the Grizzlies’ Ja Morant and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. As for how the injury occurred, it appears that he suffered it during the second half of Thursday’s game while attempting to block a shot from Brooklyn’s Cam Thomas in the third quarter.
How long will Joel Embiid be out?
The consensus favorite to clinch this year’s MVP award, the Cameroonian big man is currently leading the league with 33.1 points per game coming into the postseason. Needless to say, any possible absence would be a huge blow to the 76ers hopes in the playoffs. Though they do currently have a 3-0 series lead following their narrow 102-97 win, these are still early days and there is very much a long way to go. To that end, there will be a great deal of relief after an MRI revealed that despite a right knee sprain, the situation isn’t too serious. Indeed, reports have indicated that there is “optimism” that Embiid could return to the court early next week.
Of course, with that aforementioned lead that the Sixers have, there isn’t a pressing need for their star to return, such that he has officially been ruled out of Game 4. On the other hand, if the Nets manage to get a win to keep their postseason alive, then it’s quite likely we will see Embiid in Game 5. Whatever the case, it’s clear that Philly intends to rest him as much as possible as they prepare for what we have to assume will be a trip to the second round of the playoffs.