March 28, 2024

76ers’ Joel Embiid getting valuable healing time with sweep of Nets

The Nets didn’t have to face injured Joel Embiid on Saturday in their do-or-die Game 4 against the 76ers, and they still couldn’t find a way to extend their season.

Even with Embiid sidelined with a sprained right knee, the Nets lost 96-88 and suffered another ignominious first-round playoff sweep.

With the victory, the 76ers bought themselves extra time to rest, and gave their presumptive MVP favorite time to heal. But for Embiid, who has suffered some sort of health woe every single time Philadelphia has been in the postseason during his NBA career, the injury was still a tough blow.

“I talked to him. I mean obviously, clearly, that’s on your mind. It is,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers said. “But just as I said, this is another obstacle in the story that we’re going to write this year. And you’re going to be OK. It may take a minute but this is just part of it. I’m sure he’s human. Goodness, this happens again.

“So let’s win, let’s get him back on the floor. And let’s just keep on our own journey. And that’s basically what we talked about.”

Embiid — the two-time scoring champ and favorite to unseat Denver’s Nikola Jokic as MVP — has a long, disappointing history of postseason injuries.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid
Embiid suffered an injury during the series against the Nets.
Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

The center missed time with: an orbital fracture and mild concussion last season, a knee injury in 2021 and an orbital fracture in 2018. He also played through a knee injury in 2020 and a stomach virus in 2019.

This time, it was a knee injury he suffered in the third quarter of Thursday’s Game 3 at Barclays Center. Embiid was fortunate not to get ejected or suspended for kicking Nic Claxton below the belt in the first quarter of that game, but he got hurt when tumbling over while trying to block a Cam Johnson drive later.

When asked about Embiid’s timeline, and whether he would’ve been able to return had the series been extended (Game 5 was slated for Monday in Philadelphia and Game 6 would have been on Thursday night), Rivers replied: “I don’t know. I can’t answer that. I’m not sure, I will say that.”

But the Nets never took it that far.

Philadelphia improved to 12-5 this season without Embiid, including a pair of wins over the Nets.

“When Joel doesn’t play, even tougher, because James [Harden] really isn’t a turnover-prone player, in the sense of pick on game, one-on-one, pick-and-roll game,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. “So that took away our ability to get some transition opportunities.”

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