Rivers: Embiid 'feeling a lot better,' doesn't 'want to give false hope'

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers hopes his star center can return sooner than later. Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

76ers HC Doc Rivers: Joel Embiid 'feeling a lot better' but doesn't 'want to give false hope'

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 5/3/22

The Philadelphia 76ers don't yet know whether they'll fly home late Wednesday night in a 2-0 hole or a 1-1 tie in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Miami Heat. They fell to the top seed in the East on Monday. Both teams were missing star players in Philly MVP finalist Joel Embiid and Miami starting point guard Kyle Lowry.

The Heat's six-time All-Star guard has already been ruled out for Game 2. Embiid will also miss Game 2, but his status beyond that remains up in the air after suffering a concussion and orbital fracture in Game 6 of the first round. It was reported on Sunday that the team was optimistic that the Cameroonian big man would be good for Game 3 or Game 4.

Sixers head coach Doc Rivers commented on Embiid's injury on Tuesday, but his words didn't exactly clear up any questions.

Doc Rivers said Joel Embiid “is feeling a lot better” but added that he “didn’t want to give false hope either.”
— Rich Hofmann (@rich_hofmann) May 3, 2022

Embiid made his fifth consecutive All-Star team in 2022 and finished the regular season with a career-high (and NBA-best) 30.6 points per game, as well as 11.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 blocks per contest. Embiid's assists and minutes average (33.8) were both career highs, as were his 68 games played.

During the six-game first-round series win against the Toronto Raptors, he posted 26.2 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 39.0 minutes per contest while shooting 52% from the field.

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