PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid finds himself sidelined once again due to persistent trouble with his left knee. The All-Star and pivotal player for the Philadelphia 76ers is faced with uncertain decisions regarding his immediate playing future. Embiid, standing at 7 feet tall, underwent tests for his knee on Monday with additional examinations scheduled, leading to his absence from the Sixers’ contest against Chicago. This marked the 38th game Embiid has missed this season, as the ailing 76ers look at all possible remedies including rest, potential surgery, or even continuing to play amidst discomfort based on test results.
In Philadelphia, speculation mounts: Did the seven-time All-Star center just conclude his season? According to head coach Nick Nurse, those conclusions haven’t been reached. “We are playing and testing and trying to figure it out and go from there,” he stated on Monday. Embiid has participated in just 19 out of the Sixers’ 57 games, a team that entered Monday with a record of 20-36, teetering on the edge of missing the NBA play-in tournament. Embiid, who previously averaged at least 30 points in recent seasons and secured two scoring titles, currently averages 23.8 points with only 29 points combined in his latest two performances.
Nurse commented, “I don’t think anybody envisioned it going like this. It’s disappointing on a lot of levels. He wants to play. We want him to play. Our best version is with him playing. It hasn’t worked out like that. Yet.” During Saturday’s 105-102 defeat to Brooklyn, Nurse opted to bench Embiid for the entire fourth quarter. Embiid, who managed just 14 points and didn’t hit any of his six attempts from beyond the arc, watched as his team fought back from a 17-point deficit to lead, only to lose the match on a buzzer-beater by Nic Claxton.
Since earning NBA MVP status for the 2022-23 season, Embiid has only played 58 regular-season games and participated in seven games in both play-in and playoff scenarios. Last season saw only 39 games from him due to a torn meniscus in his left knee, which required surgery announced by the 76ers in early February. Embiid made a return in April, contributing to the playoff run and clinching a gold medal with the U.S. team at the Olympics last summer. Earlier this month, Embiid admitted he wasn’t fully recovered following last year’s operation.
Embiid isn’t alone in grappling with health issues on the Sixers’ roster, as fellow All-Star Paul George also faces challenges. George, in the first year of a substantial four-year, $212 million deal, hasn’t played to the level once expected, marred by injuries and inefficiency. His scoring has dwindled lately, not topping 17 points since January 24, and even hitting single digits on three occasions since. George shared candid advice for Embiid regarding the grind of playing injured, expressing, “Drugs help me. That’s kind of what gets me over the hump.” George noted his own reliance on pain-killing injections due to multiple injuries like tendon damage in his left pinky.
Regardless of injury woes, time is slipping away for the 76ers to mount any substantial postseason challenge. “We’re still having the same conversations. Here we are, just about 60 games in. It’s unacceptable. Just the amount of layups, uncontested at times, that we give up, it’s just unacceptable,” George shared. “It just comes down to what we want to do. Do we want to leave everything on the floor and play as hard as we can and see where that gets us? I’m all for it. But we’ve got to come together and we’ve got to play hard.”
The combined lineup of Embiid, George, and Tyrese Maxey, a 2024 All-Star, only achieved a 7-8 record this season. Heading into Monday, the Sixers were on a seven-game losing streak overall. The team’s first-round draft pick is contingently protected among the top six; otherwise, it belongs to the Oklahoma City Thunder, possibly motivating the Sixers to consider shutting Embiid or potentially George down, thus cutting their losses.
“It’s all been challenging,” Nurse remarked. “The sheer number of guys that have been out and in and out and not playing, then him playing at less than his best, all those things have been a challenge. Just try and figure it out night by night and take it as it comes.”
