After being examined by team doctors, Sixers center Joel Embiid was unable to practice on Saturday and is considered “doubtful for at least Game 1” against Boston on Monday night, head coach Doc Rivers told reporters, including Rich Hofmann of The Athletic (Twitter video link).
Embiid will need to get some practice time in before being cleared to return, Rivers added.
The star big man sprained his right knee last Thursday during Game 3 of Philadelphia’s first-round series versus Brooklyn. He missed Game 4, but the Sixers won without him to complete their sweep of the Nets.
Initial reports indicated that the Sixers were optimistic about Embiid’s injury — a sprained LCL — and his chances to return sooner rather than later. However, following Game 4 last Saturday, Rivers said the odds of Embiid returning for Game 1 were “probably 50 percent, at best.”
Obviously, playing without Embiid for any length of time against the Celtics will negatively impact Philadelphia’s chances of winning the series. If he is able to return at some point, he’s expected to wear a knee brace to help stabilize the joint.
If Embiid does miss Game 1, Paul Reed is the most likely candidate to start in his place, with fellow big men like Dewayne Dedmon and Montrezl Harrell among the other options for minutes in the middle.
After finishing as the MVP runner-up each of the past two seasons, Embiid is considered the frontrunner for the regular season award in 2022/23. He averaged a league-high 33.1 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.0 SPG and 1.7 BPG on .548/.330/.857 shooting in 66 games (34.6 MPG) this season.
What a cuck
Don’t talk about yourself like that
Lol
Seconded
damn, maybe he should stop flopping so much
in this year’s playoffs the refs are playing prison rules. Whistles have been mostly silent. Embiid was taking a beaten by 1, 2 & sometimes 3 players at a time. NBA needs to find balance between regular season rules and playoff rules. There is no consistency.
Well, this sucks!
Not winning without Embiid ……
Harden n Harris have to have a big gm. Even with Embiid Sixers are underdogs. Other players have to step up for this series.
Maxey needs to grow a pair against Boston and drop 25+ and both Harris and Harden need to be around 20. Tucker can’t put in his usual O-fer. They’ll need the bench to really step up. They don’t win this game if they can’t score in the triple digits.
I wonder if this is a strategic move. Game 1 is often a toss up game as teams are trying to get a feel for the opponents game plan. Not having Embiid out there puts the Celtics at a disadvantage moving forward in the rest of the series as far as strategy goes.
It would be a bold move, but Doc has shown he’s not afraid to make a bold move. And it’s hard to believe Embiid wouldn’t play if there was any possibility of being able to play, especially in this matchup.
I think starting Harrell would be the move in my opinion. Celtics don’t really have the strength to compete with him. Rob would definitely be able to defend him using his athleticism, but it would wear him down and make it harder for him to free roam forcing more one on one defense.
B-Ball Paul has done a great job backing Embiid up. I can see Reed grabbing 15-18 rebounds and putting in 15-20 pts in a spot start.
Not another HEAT vs C’s ECF *face palm*
This man might as well change his name to Kawhi Embiid, aka Mr. Unavailable.
THIS IS YOUR MVP!?!
MVP front runner is Jokic… Embiid is the favourite for the 2nd place, just to clarify
And the legend grows…