76ers get Joel Embiid injury blow in middle of playoff series

Nov 27, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) warms up before action against the Sacramento Kings at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Joel Embiid will be forced to miss time for a third straight postseason.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported Friday that the Philadelphia 76ers star Embiid has suffered a sprained right knee and will miss Game 4 against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. Wojnarowski does add though that there is optimism that Embiid could be ready to return as soon as early next week.

The MVP frontrunner Embiid had a few pretty hard falls during Thursday’s Game 3 win over the Nets. But it appears to have been one particular third-quarter sequence where Embiid tripped over Brooklyn’s Cameron Johnson that caused the sprain. Embiid immediately came up hobbling after landing awkwardly on Johnson (but stayed in the game).

Joel Embiid comes up limping again after getting tangled up with Cam Johnson on this play 🙏pic.twitter.com/FjB2mfjmrT

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 21, 2023

Embiid already missed two playoff games against the Miami Heat last season (potentially costing the 76ers that series) when he was concussed during the previous round against the Toronto Raptors (video here). The year before that, Embiid also missed the final game of the 76ers’ playoff series against the Washington Wizards with a knee injury.

It is possible that the 76ers are just exercising caution with Embiid since they are up 3-0 on Brooklyn right now. But it is in Philly’s best interest to finish out the series as quickly as possible, especially since a tough second-round matchup with the Boston Celtics likely looms next for them.