Joel Embiid Addresses Knee Injury After Play-In Win vs. Miami Heat

How is Joel Embiid feeling after the Philadelphia 76ers' win over the Miami Heat?

Apr 17, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) controls / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Before the Philadelphia 76ers found themselves in their first Play-In Tournament game, the team battled against the Brooklyn Nets for the regular season finale.

Heading into the matchup, the Sixers had Joel Embiid listed as questionable on the injury report. Surprisingly, Embiid sat out for the critical matchup.

Embiid’s absence on Sunday left many curious. Considering the big man went to the locker room to get his knee checked out during last Friday’s win over the Orlando Magic, there was an initial worry that Embiid was experiencing a setback after returning from a multi-month recovery period following meniscus surgery.

Fortunately, Embiid’s scare was nothing more than a precautionary measure. Embiid finished out his shift in the second half of last Friday’s game. And although he missed Sunday’s action, the All-Star practiced in two sessions leading up to the Play-In battle and was eventually cleared for Wednesday’s game against the Heat.

With the Sixers facing a potential playoff absence, you could say the season was somewhat on the line on Wednesday. Therefore, Embiid checked in for 38 minutes against the Heat.

As expected, Wednesday’s game was a physical fight. Fortunately, Embiid managed to finish out the matchup without any scares this time around. After the game, the MVP-winning center offered up a small update regarding his knee.

“Hopefully, every day gets better,” he said after the game. “We’ll just keep monitoring it.”

Since returning to the Sixers’ lineup, Embiid has entered every game listed as questionable. Before the regular season concluded, he missed just two of the team’s final seven games. Wednesday’s game marked the eighth time in a row Embiid was questionable heading into the matchup.

The trend might continue on Saturday, when the Sixers pay a visit to the New York Knicks for Game 1 of the first round, but Embiid’s chances of continuing to play at this time seem high. As long as he doesn’t experience any setbacks on the court, the star center is in good shape to compete.