Sixers Rumors: Personnel Person Questions Severity of Embiid's Injury

Joel Embiid's knee hasn't been right since the Sixers opened up the 2021-2022 NBA season against the New Orleans Pelicans last week. During the starting minutes of the first quarter, Embiid made contact with another player, causing some pain in his knee.

Although it was apparent Embiid was dealing with some soreness on the court early on, the big man wrapped up the night with 22 points in 26 minutes. Two nights later, he was questionable for the 76ers' home opener against the Brooklyn Nets.

Eventually, Embiid was cleared for action and placed in the starting lineup. He checked in for 30 minutes in the loss to Brooklyn. After the game, Embiid admitted his knee has been "extremely sore" but he didn't intend to sit any games because of it.

He proved that much on Sunday when the Sixers faced the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite being listed as questionable, Embiid pushed through the soreness once again and checked in for 33 minutes in the victory over the Thunder.

Then, Embiid made it out on the floor for Tuesday's matchup against the New York Knicks. In the first three games, Embiid looked solid. Against a physical team like the Knicks, he didn't look so great.

Embiid played for 30 minutes on Tuesday night. He made just two shots from the field and scored most of his 14 points from the free-throw line. After the game, Embiid made it clear he didn't want to use his sore knee as an excuse as to why he had a rough outing, but SNY's Ian Begley reports that an anonymous NBA personnel person didn't think his knee looked healthy during gameplay.

"Joel Embiid, one NBA personnel man said ‘His knee didn’t look great,'" Begley said on Wednesday morning. "'Looked like he was dragging a little bit’."

Embiid's made it clear that his knee has been sore and it's been difficult to overcome at times. Considering the Sixers are just four games into the season, the team could consider allowing their star center to take at least a game off this week. Going into Thursday's matchup, the Sixers are set to play the Detroit Pistons. Embiid is questionable, but recent history says he plays. Perhaps, that changes on Thursday as it's been a grueling week for the All-Star.

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