Sixers' Joel Embiid Finally Felt 'Relieved' Without a Brace On vs. Nets

Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid didn't want to make excuses over the last month or so. While it was evident he was bothered, the big man had a tough time admitting something was holding him back.

No, we're not going into the 'are you having fun or not?' conversation this time around. Instead, we're discussing the splint that the big man was forced to wear over the last few weeks as a result of the surgery he had done on his hand.

Back in early January, Embiid injured himself while attempting to block a shot during the first half of a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. While Embiid returned to the court after getting his dislocated ring finger popped back into place, he would soon be forced to miss time after electing to have surgery on what was diagnosed as a torn ligament.

Embiid returned nearly three weeks later after he was cleared to play by his surgeon. While the team didn't have to put him on a minutes restriction, there was still a setback due to the large splint that Embiid was forced to wear upon his return.

He kept getting asked about it, receiving questions regarding whether the splint was restricting his game or not. Of course, Embiid didn't want to make excuses, so he always denied the notion that it had anything to do with his struggles.

On Thursday, however, Embiid wasn't as reluctant to admit the splint did bother him at times on the floor. Now that he was able to ditch the brace for some buddy tape, the Sixers center feels a lot more free on the court.

"[Not having a splint] helped a lot," Embiid claimed after Thursday's overtime win over the Nets. "I've been struggling at the free-throw line the last couple of games."

"It was a good relief to have it off." While Embiid was happy with his dominant 39 point performance, he also acknowledged a few things he would like to clean up moving forward. Turnovers and allowing offensive rebounds were his key points. Other than that, though, the Sixers' mystery man is beginning to feel a lot better in more ways than one, which is good news for Philly.

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