Joel Embiid's Joke Reveals Sixers Center Battled Through Hand Pain vs. Celtics

Joel Embiid never came off the court for medical attention during Wednesday night's game against the Boston Celtics. However, the Sixers superstar was battling several issues throughout his night full of struggles on the road.

For starters, Embiid is coming off of an ugly battle with COVID-19. After testing positive for the virus early on in November, Embiid was symptomatic. Admittedly, he dealt with severe effects of the virus and questioned whether he could return or not in his target date last Saturday when the 76ers faced the Minnesota Timberwolves.

As he struggled to get up and down the court in a private workout last Friday, Embiid thought it was it was a "miracle" he could play last Saturday, let alone check in for 45 minutes and knock down a season-high of 42 points. 

It seemed Embiid didn't a miss a step in that first game back, but the rust delayed a game as the big man is now dealing with the struggles of returning from COVID. On Monday night against the Orlando Magic, Embiid hit on just four of his 16 shots for 16 points. Against the Celtics on Wednesday, he struggled even more as he drained just three of his 17 shots for 13 points.

One could guess the after-effects of COVID-19 played a part in Embiid's recent struggles. He confirmed that's the case after the disappointing loss. "It’s gonna take me a while to get back," Embiid said after the game. "Especially legs and cardio and all that stuff. Every single day, I just gotta keep working hard and keep getting better.” 

The aftermath of COVID wasn't the only factor holding Embiid back on Wednesday night, it seems. Early on during the game, the big man was spotted shaking his hand, which showed signs of him being in pain.

After the game, Embiid revealed that after getting his hand banged up on a play in his matchup against Boston center Enes Freedom, he felt soreness throughout the remainder of the matchup. While Embiid made it clear at the start of his postgame press conference that he didn't want to make excuses for his poor performance, it seems key factors were setting him back. 

“That’s what happens when Freedom has too much freedom,” Embiid joked when recalling the play he hurt his hand. “I got hit there pretty bad in the first quarter. I mean, hopefully, it gets better but it was pretty painful for the rest of the way. When I was shooting the ball in rhythm, I could feel it. But it was fine. I could feel it most when I was shooting free throws and the three. Hopefully, it gets better.”

The good news is that Embiid's hand soreness isn't currently being viewed as an injury that could hold him back. As the Sixers are set to take on the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, they'll need Embiid to be a lot more efficient as they need to avoid taking on a losing record 23 games into the 2021-2022 NBA season.

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