Despite Joel Embiid’s constant injuries, the Philadelphia 76ers still can’t seem to figure out how to handle him.
On Monday, the 76ers star Embiid was ruled out for Tuesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder due to a left foot sprain. As a result, Embiid’s absence will now extend to a fifth straight contest.
The former NBA MVP Embiid initially hurt his foot in a win on Christmas Day against the Boston Celtics. He then played in four more games after that (sitting out of just one game on a back-to-back set). But Embiid’s foot seems to have since worsened, and now he has not played at all since Jan. 4.
As a result, the 76ers heard criticisms over social media on Monday over their handling of the situation.
Embiid injured his foot in the Christmas day game, finished the game, played another four games after that, then started missing games and now has been out for 10 days
Another totally normal and well-managed injury situation for the Philadelphia 76ers!
— Mike O'Connor (@MOConnor_NBA) January 13, 2025
Overall this season, Embiid has played in just 13 games after also missing time due to left knee swelling. The few times that Embiid has been on the court, he has looked far less effective and is only averaging 24.4 points and 7.9 rebounds a game this season on 45/33/92 shooting splits (after posting 34.7 points and 11.0 rebounds a game on 53/39/88 splits last season).
The fact that the 76ers are so lousy this year at 15-22 (11th in the East) has probably had Embiid pushing himself to play at less than 100 percent. While Embiid’s comically bad luck with injuries also hasn’t helped matters at all, at some point, the 76ers can’t keep trotting a compromised Embiid out there, only for him to aggravate his ailments and end up missing even more time.
