Philadelphia 76ers star center and likely NBA MVP Joel Embiid missed their series-clinching Game 4 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday with a knee injury.
Embiid had suffered said injury during a physical Game 3 outing against Brooklyn a few days earlier, leading to speculation that something more serious could be in the cards.
We do have an update on the injury courtesy of 76ers head coach Doc Rivers. It’s considered an LCL sprain, which typically sidelines a player for north of a week.
Given Embiid’s size and injury history, said timeline could be extended. Here’s what Rivers had to say about Embiid’s status for the Eastern Conference Semifinals against either the Boston Celtics or Atlanta Hawks.
“There really isn’t any update yet,” Rivers on Joel Embiid’s injury, via The Philadelphia Inquirer. “We won’t know anything for at least another couple of days probably before we can move forward.”
Boston currently holds a 3-1 series lead against Atlanta and can close it out at home Tuesday evening. If the defending Eastern Conference champions win, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Philadelphia will be Saturday in Boston. If Atlanta extends this to six, Game 1 would then take place on Monday.
Rivers also noted that he’s not 100% confident that Embiid’s injury isn’t season-ending. “But I don’t think it is,” Philadelphia’s head coach said.
Embiid did not participate in practice on Tuesday. Instead, he was seen working out in the weight room with 76ers trainers. Even if Embiid is able to return for the start of the second round, he’ll likely have to wear a brace on the knee. That could impact his mobility moving forward.
With Embiid sidelined for Game 4 against Brooklyn on Sunday, the 76ers were still able to come away with the series sweep via a 96-88 road win. Tobias Harris led a balanced scoring effort with 25 points.
However, it will be a whole different ball game if Philadelphia goes up against the defending Eastern Conference champion Celtics in the conference semifinals.
Right now, everything seems to still be up in the air as it relates to Joel Embiid’s status. Despite having a ton of time off in between rounds, this is not great news for the 76ers.
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