Doc Rivers Puts Percentage on Joel Embiid’s Return Next Round
The Philadelphia 76ers received bad news on Friday night. After the team’s star center Joel Embiid dealt with knee soreness during the Sixers’ Game 3 matchup, the team feared he might be dealing with a notable injury.
“From my understanding, they checked his knee out right after the game, because he was complaining about some soreness behind the knee, which is always a scary thing when it’s behind the knee.” Doc Rivers revealed before the Sixers’ Game 4 matchup against the Nets. “[It was] swelling already, which is way too early. So, we did an MRI. As a coach, I hate that word. I hate those three letters because it never comes out well. It just feels like that whenever they tell the coach, ‘Hey, we're going to get an MRI.’ You know, it doesn't turn out well, most of the time. And this one did not.”
Embiid didn’t suffer any structural damage to his knee, but he was diagnosed with a sprain. Not long after the diagnosis, the Sixers ruled out Embiid for the Sixers’ Game 4 matchup on Saturday afternoon.
“This is another obstacle in the story that we’re going to write this year,” Rivers said, discussing his conversation with Embiid. “You’re going to be okay. It may take a minute, but this is just part of it. He’s human, and 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. That’s basically what we talked about last night.”
The Sixers took care of business on Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn. By giving Paul Reed the start, Philly relied on its backup to help them handle business without their team’s most prominent player. Reed had a decent outing, collecting ten points, 15 rebounds, one steal, and one block in 32 minutes.
Philadelphia was happy to celebrate Reed’s Game 4 success, along with their 96-88 victory, which swept the Nets out of the NBA Playoffs, but now all of the attention shifts to Embiid’s availability when the second round of the postseason officially begins.
Will he be ready?
“I don’t… Not that I don’t have confidence, I just don’t know,” Doc Rivers said. “I would say right now, it’s probably 50 percent at best.”
During the 2022-2023 regular season, the Sixers held a winning record of 11-5 in games without Embiid on the floor. On Saturday, the Sixers took care of business and picked up their 12th win of the season without the big man available to play.
Embiid's status for Game 1 of the pending second-round series is currently 50-50, per Rivers. Fortunately for Philadelphia, a sweep against the Nets allows them to get a lengthy break.
