Doc Rivers Addresses Joel Embiid’s Latest Setback

Doc Rivers discusses his team's latest significant setback as Joel Embiid's set to miss some time.

Another day, another unfortunate injury update for the Philadelphia 76ers.

A few weeks back, James Harden became the first member of the Sixers to suffer a setback as he was diagnosed with a tendon strain in his foot.

Tyrese Maxey became the second member of the roster to get hit with a multi-week timeframe as he suffered a small fracture in his foot last Friday.

The Sixers have also had some minor setbacks recently, as Jaden Springer, Furkan Korkmaz, and Tobias Harris have missed some games lately. Now, Joel Embiid joins in on the trend.

Over the weekend, Embiid collided with his teammate, Georges Niang. As a result, the big man was slow to get up and had a noticeable limp throughout the remainder of the game. After the matchup, Embiid confirmed he was still in pain but wouldn’t rule out playing in Tuesday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets. 

Unfortunately, a foot sprain diagnosis will sideline Embiid for the next two games, leaving Philadelphia even more shorthanded than before. On Monday, following a practice session, Doc Rivers reacted to his team’s latest loss due to injury.

“We just got to play,” said coach Doc Rivers at practice on Monday. “We worked today. We worked on a lot of movement stuff offensively. We’re not going to be a big team with Tuck and Trez and Paul Reed, we’ll just figure it out and go at it.”

“When I saw him grabbing his foot, I was already a little relieved because I thought maybe the ankle, but you just don’t know,” Rivers added. “I mean, everyone’s going down right now.” (via Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire)

Without Embiid on Tuesday, the Sixers are guaranteed to be without three starters. Tobias Harris, who is dealing with hip soreness, missed the last two games. Therefore, his status is currently unknown as well.

Regardless if Harris is back in the lineup or not, the Sixers have no choice but to just continue implementing the next-man-up mentality with their reserves garnering more minutes. 

For Philly, the backup center tandem of Paul Reed and Montrezl Harrell will get an increase in minutes. PJ Tucker will have to see more playing time as well, as he’s a backup center option as well. The situation certainly isn’t ideal, but the Sixers will have to work with what they’ve got over the next couple of games. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.