Joel Embiid Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Sixers Notes: Embiid, Oubre, Hield, Payne

April 27th, 2024 at 6:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

The toughness that Joel Embiid displayed in Game 3 will have to continue for the Sixers to have any chance to win their series with New York, writes Marcus Hayes of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Despite dealing with the pain of a surgically repaired left knee and the difficulties brought on by a mild case of Bell’s palsy, Embiid set a career playoff high with 50 points in Thursday’s crucial victory.

With two days to rest before the series resumes Sunday, Embiid is embracing the challenges of playoff basketball, no matter what physical ailments he has to overcome.

“I want to play as much as possible. I only have about, maybe, eight years left. So I have to enjoy this as much as possible and I want to win,” he said. “I’m just trying to keep pushing. I’m not going to quit. If it’s on one leg, I’m still going to go out there and try, but that’s not an excuse. Got to keep playing better, and better, and better.”

After Game 3, Embiid called the Bell’s palsy “an unfortunate situation” and told reporters, including Tim Bontemps of ESPN, that it started with migraine headaches shortly before Philadelphia’s play-in game last week. He explained that the condition sometimes causes blurred vision, and he frequently has to put drops in left eye to keep it from drying out.

“It’s pretty annoying, you know, with the left side of my face, my mouth and my eye. So yeah, it’s been tough,” Embiid said. “But I’m not a quitter, so gotta keep fighting. But yeah, it’s unfortunate. That’s the way I look at it. But it’s not an excuse. Gotta keep pushing.”

There’s more from Philadelphia:

Kelly Oubre responded to the Knicks‘ complaints about officiating after Game 3, per Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire. In addition to a free throw disparity, New York players were upset about a Flagrant 1 foul that Embiid committed when he grabbed Mitchell Robinson‘s leg, with Donte DiVincenzo calling it a “dirty play.” Oubre said he has been on the receiving end of that type of contact and doesn’t consider it dirty. He also called for a focus on basketball instead of threats of retaliation. “It’s like, let’s just hoop,” Oubre said at today’s practice. “Let’s go out there and play hard and nobody’s gonna fight. This ain’t WWE. So at the end of the day, stand on the stuff that’ll say so we’ll see tomorrow how they react.”
Philadelphia police are conducting an internal investigation into whether Oubre received preferential treatment following his auto accident early Tuesday morning, tweets Michael J. Babcock of TMZ Sports. Oubre, who is accused of running a red light and hitting another car, wasn’t cited or given a sobriety test or breathalyzer.
Buddy Hield played just four minutes in Game 3 and appears to have been replaced in the rotation by Cameron Payne, notes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Hield didn’t get off the bench after the first quarter, while Payne contributed 11 points and three assists in nearly 16 minutes. Hield has been a disappointment since being acquired from Indiana at the deadline, and Pompey suggests the Sixers would probably rather have Marcus Morris, who was shipped to San Antonio in the three-team trade.

Knicks Notes: Officiating, Robinson, Anunoby, DiVincenzo, Hart

April 27th, 2024 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After the Sixers ripped the officiating following their Game 2 loss, it was the Knicks who had grievances to express during their post-game media session following Game 3. As Peter Botte of The New York Post writes, head coach Tom Thibodeau wasn’t happy with the fact that Joel Embiid went to the line 21 times while his team as a whole was awarded just 19 free throw attempts.

“I’ll look at it again, and I’ll send my clips in like I do every game and they’ll say, ‘marginal contact,’ and then we’ll have marginal contact on Embiid and he’ll be at the line 21 times,” Thibodeau said after Thursday’s loss. “So that’s the way it works.”

While some Knicks players suggested they’d expected the officiating in Game 3 to favor the Sixers after how Game 2 ended, they took exception to an Embiid foul on Mitchell Robinson in the first quarter. After Embiid fell to the floor on defense, he grabbed Robinson’s legs as the Knicks center attempted to rise up for a layup attempt (video link). Donte DiVincenzo called it a “dirty” play, while Josh Hart said Robinson was fortunate to avoid a significant injury.

“I’m all for tough fouls, tough playoff fouls, but that’s something that can put a guy out for a significant amount of time,” Hart said, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “So we’re lucky he didn’t get seriously hurt during that time.”

Embiid – who was called for a flagrant 1 foul on the play, rather than flagrant 2 that would have ended his night – explained to reporters after the game that he had “flashbacks” to a play earlier this year when Jonathan Kuminga fell on his knee. He said he wanted to avoid a repeat of that incident.

“I didn’t mean to hurt anybody,” Embiid said. “I just … in those situations I gotta protect myself, because I’ve been in way too many situations where I’m always the recipient of the bad end of it.”

Here’s more on the Knicks as they prepare for Sunday’s Game 4:

Robinson’s status for Game 4 remains up in the air, but he didn’t practice on Saturday, according to Thibodeau (Twitter link via Fred Katz of The Athletic). If Robinson is unable to play, the pressure will be on Isaiah Hartenstein and Precious Achiuwa to respond to and match Embiid’s physicality on Sunday, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.
OG Anunoby and DiVincenzo were two of the Knicks’ most reliable role players during the regular season, but they’ve been up and down so far in the playoffs, according to Botte, who says New York needs more consistency out of the two wings going forward. The Knicks outscored opponents with Anunoby on the floor in every single one of his 23 regular season games with the team, but have a negative net rating during his minutes in two of three postseason contests.
The fact that so many key Knicks contributors played their college ball at Villanova has been a fun subplot of the first-round series between New York and Philadelphia. As Bondy details for The New York Post, both Hart and DiVincenzo spoke this week about how they hoped to be drafted by the Sixers when they came into the NBA. “Yeah, I wanted to go (to Philadelphia),” said Hart, who was the No. 30 pick in the 2017 draft. “They were at 25 and did a draft-and-stash, some European guy that I can’t pronounce the name.” The 76ers used that pick on Anzejs Pasecniks, who spent the next two seasons overseas, then had his rights renounced by Philadelphia in 2019.

Sixers Notes: Embiid, Oubre, Knicks Series

April 25th, 2024 at 10:57pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Sixers superstar Joel Embiid has been treated for a mild case of Bell’s palsy for the past week, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The condition began during the play-in game against Miami, but according to Wojnarowski, Embiid kept it a secret to not allow for distractions.

There’s been some speculation circling about why Embiid was wearing sunglasses and if that was related to an eye issue, but Wojnarowski (Twitter link) reports that it’s because of Bell’s palsy, which is an episode of facial muscle weakness or paralysis.

According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Embiid said dealing with the condition has been “pretty annoying” (Twitter link). “It’s unfortunate … got to keep pushing,” Embiid said.

Embiid hasn’t let it prevent him from making an impact in the series — he dropped a playoff career-high 50 points to lead the Sixers to a win over the Knicks in Game 3. As the New York Post’s Stefan Bondy writes, Embiid was physical and efficient in the game, connecting on 13 of his 19 shot attempts. He had 18 points in the third quarter.

We have more from the Sixers:

Kelly Oubre was involved in a car accident after Game 2, according to TMZ. The wreck happened in the earlier hours of Tuesday morning, with police saying Oubre “disregarded a red traffic signal” and ran into another car. No one reported any injuries, but both cars had to be towed from scene. Philadelphia Inquirer’s Gina Mizell confirmed the TMZ report (Twitter link).
Before Philadelphia’s Game 3 victory, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps explored reasons why the 2-0 deficit wasn’t as dire as it seemed. Bontemps identified several keys for the rest of the series, including the impressive play of Tyrese Maxey and Embiid’s ability to play through injuries. In addition, Cameron Payne delivered 11 points in 16 minutes off the bench in Game 3 after Bontemps pointed out Philly’s role players had been somewhat limited in the first two games.
Despite expressing displeasure with how Game 2 was officiating, Philadelphia didn’t file a formal protest and instead let the deadline pass, Bondy writes in a separate piece. In the playoffs, a protest “must be filed not later than midnight of the day of the game protested.” For what it’s worth, reporting after Game 2 didn’t indicate that the 76ers would formally protest the outcome of the game — just that they’d contact the league with their concerns about the officiating.
Embiid and Mitchell Robinson got tangled up in Game 3, resulting in Embiid being issued a flagrant 1 foul. According to the pool report, crew chief Zach Zarba said there wasn’t excessive contact, and that’s why it didn’t rise to a flagrant 2 (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Fred Katz). “The crew was unanimous along with the replay center official in Secaucus that this foul was unnecessary but did not rise to the level of a flagrant 2,” Zarba said.

Atlantic Notes: Melton, Brunson, Sixers Comeback, Tatum

April 25th, 2024 at 10:55am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers may have another rotation player available for Game 3 of their first-round series with the Knicks tonight. De’Anthony Melton practiced on Wednesday and could suit up on Thursday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

“I’m feeling good,” Melton said after the practice. “I’m ready for the game tomorrow and we’ll see how it goes.”

Melton averaged a career-high 11.1 points per game this season and is a strong perimeter defender. He has played only seven games since Dec. 30 due to a spinal injury.

“I think for me, the little things, rebounding, boxing out, getting deflections, getting steals,” Melton said of the impact he could make.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Despite his team being up 2-0 in the series, Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson isn’t happy with his production. He’s shooting 29.1% from the field during the first two contests, with the Sixers sending extra bodies to force tougher shots. “The easy answer is I need to adjust and I need to be more poised, just understand what they’re doing and just flat-out be better,” Brunson said, per Peter Botte of the New York Post. “There’s no gimmicks to it. It’s just, ‘Jalen, you need to be better.’ And it’s that plain and simple.”
Their ability to keep Brunson in check with Kelly Oubre Jr. as the primary defender is one of the reasons why the Sixers should be optimistic about rallying in the series, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps writes. The fact that Joel Embiid has been able to effectively play through a sore knee is another reason to believe a turnaround is coming.
Following their 111-101 home loss to the Heat on Wednesday night, Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum said it’s his team’s turn to counter Miami’s adjustments, Brian Robb of MassLive.com relays. “I think we’ve gotta be more creative,” Tatum said. “The playoffs are about making adjustments game to game, and they did that. They’re not just going to let us catch the ball, they’re not just going to let us throw it to (Kristaps Porzingis) easy. They’re supposed to try to mess things a little up, and make it a little bit tougher. So it’s our job to react in real time, as well as make our adjustments going from game to game.”

Sixers To File Grievance Over Officating

April 23rd, 2024 at 4:26pm CST by Luke Adams

4:26pm: The league acknowledged in its last two-minute report that Brunson and Josh Hart both fouled Maxey during the last-minute scramble. It also indicated Nurse should have been granted a timeout on the inbounds play, Bontemps tweets.

7:26am: Following their Game 2 loss to the Knicks in New York on Monday, the Sixers intend to file a grievance with the NBA over the officiating, a team spokesperson told Tim Bontemps of ESPN and Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports.

According to Neubeck, the 76ers’ list of concerns will include (but won’t necessarily be limited to) the following:

Two calls in the last two-minute report from Game 1 went against the Sixers.
The Sixers have been the most disadvantaged team in the NBA this season based on last two-minute reports, with a report compiled in early April indicating that 22 missed calls benefited their opponents and 11 benefited them, the worst such ratio in the league.
The Knicks included detailed referee information in their game notes for the first two games of the series (Twitter link), which Bontemps describes as “unusual.”
The Sixers believe they should have been awarded a timeout at multiple points during a key inbounds play and possession late in Monday’s loss (Twitter video link). They also believe Tyrese Maxey was fouled during the play, with Jalen Brunson grabbing his jersey.

That inbounds play occurred with 27 seconds left in the game and the Sixers holding a two-point lead. Head coach Nick Nurse appeared to briefly signal for a timeout just before Kyle Lowry inbounded the ball to Maxey, who was held by Brunson. Maxey fell to the floor with the ball as Nurse attempted to call timeout again, but the Sixers lost possession before a timeout could be granted, leading to a Donte DiVincenzo go-ahead three-pointer.

“Well, the first thing is obviously they score,” Nurse said in describing the sequence after the game. “We take a look at getting it in quick. We don’t get it in quick. I call timeout. Referee looked right at me. Ignored me. Went into Tyrese, I called timeout again. Then the melee started.

“I guess I got to run out onto the floor or do something to make sure and get his attention, but I needed a timeout there to advance it. Would’ve been good. But, couldn’t get it.”

Joel Embiid was even more blunt in expressing his displeasure with the officiating.

“Everybody was trying to call a timeout on the floor,” Embiid said, per Bontemps. “Me included. Coach on the sideline. But they didn’t give it to us. But, forget about the timeout. There’s a bunch of fouls. That’s f—ing unacceptable. …That’s on the frigging referees. I hate to put the game on them. But I am sure the two-minute report is going to come out and we are going to see what happened. … We fought for 47 minutes and whatever 20 seconds. For that to happen … that’s not OK.”

The Sixers weren’t the only team with complaints about the officiating after a tough Monday loss. As Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes, the Lakers also had gripes to share after losing to Denver 101-99 on a Jamal Murray buzzer beater.

Los Angeles was upset that a Michael Porter Jr. foul on D’Angelo Russell in the third quarter, which would have led to a pair of free throws, was overturned because the contact was deemed “marginal” (Twitter video link). Russell later tweeted, “That’s a foul we all saw it on national television.”

“D-Lo clearly gets hit in the face on a drive,” LeBron James said. “What the f–k do we have a replay center for if it’s going to go [like that]? It doesn’t make sense to me. … It bothers me. … And then I just saw what happened with the Sixers-Knicks game too. Like, what are we doing?”

As Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets, the Sixers’ grievance isn’t a formal protest of Game 2, so it won’t affect the outcome of Monday’s contest. It’s presumably just an attempt at gamesmanship on behalf of the 76ers, who will be looking to regain an edge in the series as the teams head to Philadelphia for Game 3.

For what it’s worth, Embiid remains very confident in his team’s ability to pull out the series despite facing a 2-0 deficit.

“We’re good,” Embiid told reporters on Monday, according to Bontemps. “We’re going to win this series. “We are going to win this. We know what we got to fix. We did a better job today, so we are going to fix it. We are the better team. We are going to keep fighting.”

Sixers’ Embiid, Maxey To Play In Game 2

April 22nd, 2024 at 6:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey will both play tonight in the Sixers’ Game 2 matchup with the Knicks, according to TNT’s Chris Haynes (Twitter links).

The team’s two stars were considered game-time decisions leading up to the contest. Embiid played 37 minutes in Philadelphia’s Game 1 loss on Sunday but continued to struggle with his mobility due to his surgically repaired left knee. He shot 8-for-22 from the field while scoring 29 points and had issues defensively as the Knicks scored 27 fast-break points and out-rebounded Philadelphia, 55-33.

Embiid collapsed to the court with pain in the knee late in the first half on Saturday. He was eventually able to slowly walk to the locker room and was cleared to return after intermission. Some media members have questioned whether Embiid should even be playing.

Maxey is battling through an illness which forced him to miss the morning shootaround. Maxey had 33 points in 44 minutes during the 111-104 Game 1 loss.

And-Ones: Weis, Embiid, Cook, Goodwin, Gambling

April 21st, 2024 at 8:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Former French center Frederic Weis ripped Joel Embiid for choosing Team USA over France in the Paris Olympics, Eurohoops.net relays. Weis, a 1999 first-round draft pick of the Knicks who never played in the NBA, made his comments on French station RMC.

Embiid reportedly told French officials in 2021 he would play for their national team. “I think he doesn’t have any respect for France and also for all the people who are asking for a French passport and don’t get it,” Weis said. “And under the pretext that he is a great athlete, he got it. I find it scandalous, I find it embarrassing. I don’t care about his excuses, cause they are his words, and his words mean nothing.”

We have more from around the international basketball world:

Former NBA guard Quinn Cook has signed with Puerto Rico’s Cangrejeros de Santurce, the team announced (via Twitter). Cook hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since the 2020/21 season.
Cook takes the roster spot of another former NBA guard, Brandon Goodwin, who has signed with another Puerto Rican club, Gigantes de Carolina, according to the team’s Instagram feed. Goodwin last appeared in the NBA during the 2021/22 campaign, when he saw action in 36 Cavaliers games.
Jontay Porter‘s ban from the NBA due to a gambling-related scandal could become the new norm for the NBA and other sports who have embraced betting sites, Kevin Draper and Tanai Ganguli of the New York Times write in an in-depth feature.

Sixers Have No Plans To Shut Down Joel Embiid

April 21st, 2024 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers won’t consider shutting down Joel Embiid after his second injury scare in eight days, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

The reigning MVP, who missed more than two months following meniscus surgery on his left knee in late January, collapsed to the court with pain in the knee after a spectacular play late in the first half on Saturday. He was eventually able to slowly walk to the locker room and was cleared to return after intermission.

“I knew when I went in at halftime that they were checking him out,” coach Nick Nurse said. “And that he was up and moving. And they did say we are seeing. They didn’t rule him out yet. They just took him all the way to the end there to get him ruled back in.”

Embiid, who didn’t speak with reporters after the game, was injured with 2:37 left in the second quarter when he ducked under Mitchell Robinson, threw the ball off the backboard and finished the play with a highlight dunk (video link). He landed on his left leg before collapsing in pain. It was similar to a play against Orlando last week when he fell to the court after a drive to the basket late in the first half, but returned after being checked out by team doctors.

“It was a great play. It was an amazing play,” Kelly Oubre told reporters, including Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. “Oh, man, it’s scary. Our bodies are what we use as our vehicles out here. It’s tough, and he’s seven-foot, 300 pounds. … It’s tough, man. I couldn’t even imagine being seven feet and being able to move like a guard and do the things that I can do but being that big. It’s tough, but he’s a warrior.”

Embiid’s health is obviously going to play a huge role in deciding the series with the Knicks, as he posted 29 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals in Saturday’s Game 1 loss. The Sixers were plus-14 in his 37 minutes on the court, but minus-21 in the other 11 minutes. However, Bontemps notes that he was much less effective after the injury, shooting just 2-of-11 from the field in the second half.

There’s no word yet on Embiid’s availability for Game 2, which will take place Monday night in New York, but there were no plans Saturday night for him to undergo more medical imaging on the knee, sources tell Vorkunov. He adds that Embiid was able to leave the arena without a limp.

Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer cautions that the Sixers need to be smart about how they use Embiid going forward because the strain he’s putting on his knee ligaments could result in a long-term injury. But Embiid has expressed a desire to keep playing, and it appears Nurse and team officials will honor that.

“I don’t think so,” Nurse responded when asked about the possibility of sidelining Embiid. “He’s really a warrior and he’s battling. I think he absolutely wants to play. Let’s see how he turns out here tonight.”

Injury Notes: Caruso, Bulls, Bucks, Embiid, Hartenstein

April 19th, 2024 at 5:36pm CST by Rory Maher

Bulls defensive ace Alex Caruso will be available for tonight’s play-in tournament game in Miami, head coach Billy Donovan said (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago).

Guard Ayo Dosunmu (quad) and center Andre Drummond (ankle) will be active too, Donovan added. All three players had previously been listed as questionable.

Caruso was said to have sustained a “significant” left ankle sprain in Wednesday’s play-in victory over Atlanta, but the swelling subsided over the past couple days and he told reporters on Friday morning he expected to suit up. The injury was an aggravation of a previous sprain.

Duncan Robinson, who has been battling a back issue, will be available tonight for the Heat, tweets Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Robinson was technically active for Wednesday’s loss to Philadelphia, Chiang notes, but he didn’t see any action — that might change with Jimmy Butler sidelined due to a knee sprain.

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

Bucks guard Damian Lillard was a full practice participant on Friday, but two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (left calf strain) was unable to do any live drills, according to a report from ESPN. Reserve guard A.J. Green, who sat out Tuesday’s practice with a left ankle sprain, was able to go through most of Friday’s practice. There have been mixed messages from Milwaukee on Antetokounmpo’s status, with president Peter Feigin saying he”definitely will not be back for Sunday,” when the Bucks will host the Pacers in Game 1 of their first-round series. Head coach Doc Rivers is still holding out hope that the perennial All-NBA First Team member will be ready though, per ESPN. “I don’t know yet,” Rivers said. “We’re still hoping. He hasn’t done anything. Would we throw him out there? Yeah, we would. For us, still we’re not sure.”
Speaking of Lillard, the Bucks‘ All-Star said he aggravated his Achilles tendon in Sunday’s loss to Orlando, but his adductor has been giving him the most trouble, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic relays (Twitter links). Lillard missed four games over the past few weeks with various injury designations, but he said the week off has helped him recover.
Sixers center Joel Embiid is officially questionable for Saturday’s Game 1 in New York with what the team is calling left knee injury recovery, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic. Embiid, who missed a few months after tearing his meniscus in January, has been considered questionable for nearly every game since he returned to action at the beginning of April.
Since January 20, Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein has only played 30-plus minutes five times due to Achilles soreness. However, two of those instances came in his last two regular season games, and he said he’s ready for an increased workload in the postseason, according to Katz (Twitter link).

Kawhi Leonard Completes Team USA’s Star-Studded Roster For Olympics

April 16th, 2024 at 6:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Team USA has completed its selection of an All-Star laden 12-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Shams Charania and Joe Vardon of The Athletic report (Twitter link). Kawhi Leonard was chosen for the final roster spot, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt tweets.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday the 11 other selections for the roster. Team USA received a firm commitment from Leonard on Tuesday, Wojnarowski tweets.

Unlike USA Basketball’s FIBA World Cup roster last summer, which lacked size and interior strength, the Olympic roster is filled with quality bigs. Joel Embiid, Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis will be joined at the power positions by LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

The wings will be manned by Jayson Tatum, Leonard, Devin Booker and Anthony Edwards. Jrue Holiday, Tyrese Haliburton and Stephen Curry round out the backcourt.

Haliburton and Edwards are the only players from the FIBA World Cup roster to make Team USA’s Olympic roster.

Team USA has won the gold medal in each of the last four Summer Olympics.