Joel Embiid has had to fight through a number of health issues already during the postseason, and he was apparently feeling under the weather again prior to Game 4 against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown said during an in-game interview with ABC/ESPN that Embiid’s energy was clearly not where it typically is, and he confirmed that was because the star center was battling another illness.
“You can see his energy is a shell of what it has been the last game,” Brown said. “We appreciate him even playing today.”
Embiid had just eight points in 20-plus minutes at the time of the interview. While he still made some big plays for Philly, he appeared to be bothered by something after an explosive dunk in the first half.
Embiid looked like he grimaced after this dunk. He doesn’t seem quite right today. Looks stiff. #Sixers#PhilaUnite
pic.twitter.com/xvKoY0JiPA— Jamie Apody (@JamieApody) May 5, 2019
Embiid battled a knee injury toward the end of the season, so he is probably still dealing with some symptoms from that. He also needed IV fluids prior to Game 2 because of a stomach illness, but he exploded for 33 points and 10 rebounds in Game 3 on Thursday night. If Embiid is still able to make this much of an impact at less than 100 percent, the rest of the Eastern Conference should fear the moment he finally feels fully healthy.
