The Philadelphia 76ers made easy work of the Brooklyn Nets by sweeping them in the opening round of the playoffs, but there remains significant serious concern about the health of Joel Embiid. Fortunately, it sounds like the big man should be back on the floor sooner rather than later.
Embiid was injured during Philly’s Game 3 win over the Nets on Thursday. He suffered a sprained knee on one particular fall to the deck in the third quarter (video here). The six-time All-Star did not play in Game 4 on Saturday.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Sixers are optimistic that Embiid will be able to play in Game 1 of their next series, which will either be against the Boston Celtics or Atlanta Hawks.
“There is optimism that he’ll be able to play in Game 1 of their next series… He had a sprained knee and I think they believed this is about a 1 week injury”@ShamsCharania with the latest on Joel Embiid’s injury #RunItBack #BrotherlyLove pic.twitter.com/MfdRDrBa6l
— FanDuel TV (@FanDuelTV) April 24, 2023
“He had a sprained knee and I think they believe this is about a one-week injury,” Charania said. “Assuming the playoff series starts this upcoming weekend, the hope is that Joel Embiid will be in the lineup. He went down a few times in that Game 3, but thankfully it wasn’t anything major.”
It helps that the 76ers swept the Nets, as they have now given Embiid extremely valuable time to rest and rehab. The Celtics took a 3-1 series lead over the Hawks on Sunday night, so the earliest they can finish off their series will be on Tuesday.
Doc Rivers offered some concerning comments about Embiid’s injury after Game 4. While 76ers fans are understandably nervous given what happened in the postseason last year, Embiid is trending in the right direction.
