‘I’m Good’: 76ers’ Joel Embiid Downplays Injury Concerns

Heading into the Monday night matchup against the Washington Wizards, the Philadelphia 76ers prepared for the possibility that Joel Embiid could get the night off.

During the team’s win against the Atlanta Hawks last Friday, Embiid had an injury scare late into the matchup. Driving to the basket, an awkward landing led to Embiid twisting his knee and crashing to the ground.

Falling is a common tactic for Embiid, as he’s established safe ways to avoid contact while standing. When the big man remains on the floor for an extended time, though, spectators can’t help but gasp and hold their breath.

Embiid was down on Friday, but not for long. When he got up, he walked gingerly back to the other end of the floor. The big man stuck on the court until the final minute. Once the Sixers locked in their win, the six-time All-Star was pulled from the lineup.

After the game, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse expressed some level of concern. Until he established Embiid was feeling fine the following day, he couldn’t help but worry. Meanwhile, Embiid downplayed the situation, noting that he would be fine moving forward.

Two days later, the Sixers returned to practice. Nurse mentioned that Embiid was a participant and hoped that the veteran center would be cleared for action on Monday. According to the Sixers’ initial injury report, they gave Embiid a 50/50 shot to play.

A couple of hours before the tip, Nurse mentioned that Embiid was a game-time decision and needed to go through his pregame warmups before determining his official status. Everything went well for Embiid, which led to the MVP getting cleared for takeoff against the Wizards.

If there was any doubt about how Embiid was feeling, his performance, mixed with his postgame comments, made it apparent that he was going to be just fine.

“I’m good,” said the center when asked about his knee. 

Did he feel any pain at all? “I’m good,” he said once again.

Monday’s game went as well as it could for Embiid. The veteran checked in for a short shift, got his numbers, and then checked out early.

In 29 minutes of action, Embiid hit 14 of his 20 shots from the field and knocked down four free throws. He scored a game-high 34 points and secured a double-double with 11 rebounds. In the passing department, Embiid dished out six assists. 

While it was a high turnover night for Embiid, who accounted for half of his team’s 14 turnovers, it didn’t make a difference. By the end of the third quarter, the Sixers held a comfortable lead of 112-67. By that point, Embiid was checked out and looking on to Detroit.