Joel Embiid played through another injury in the playoffs, but his knee was the most talked about part of the NBA playoffs.
The reigning MVP injured his left knee again in the first half of Saturday’s Game 1 against the Knicks, and returned for Game 2, which still ended in a 111-104 loss to Philadelphia at the packed Garden.
And now, after Embiid’s humiliation in the minutes he sat, the 76ers are confident that his surgically repaired knee will cost him big time going forward and they won’t fall victim again to an earlier-than-expected postseason exit. I just hope.
“Just like we do after every game, [we’ll look at him]. Obviously he was evaluated at halftime, but we’re going to evaluate him the same way we do after every game,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said, adding that the team has yet to contain Embiid. added.
But they better hope Embiid’s body doesn’t stop him before they do.
Embiid did not speak to the press, but he had 29 points, eight rebounds and five assists. He was the only Sixer with a double-digit plus-minus of plus-14 in 36 minutes, 33 seconds.
But it’s the time he’s missed that scares the Sixers. In the 11 minutes Embiid sat, the team scored 21 points and was dominated.
With 2:49 left in the first half, Embiid pulled off a spectacular but potentially costly play.
He threw an alley-oop himself off the backboard and dunked on Mitchell Robinson and OG Anunoby for a 49-46 lead.
But he landed awkwardly and twisted his knee, requiring meniscus surgery earlier this season, which cost him 29 games.
“[First thought was] “That’s a hell of a play.” Then, “Ah…” … It was scary,” Kelly Oubre said.
“Yeah, it’s hard to see my brother go down, but I just think about him and pray for him and hope he’s okay,” Tyrese Maxey said. “And when I got back to the locker room, I was really happy to see him, and he said he’s going to go out and try again. Hats off to him for his determination and his will to win.
“Nothing surprises me about Joel right now. He’s always been a fighter. He’s always going to go out there and try to do his best. If he can go, he’s definitely going to go there. right.”
Maxey made up for the loss with 33 points.
But make no mistake, the Sixers need Embiid healthy. And that will never happen at this time of year.
He suffered an orbital fracture and concussion in 2018, followed by knee tendonitis the following season. Then, in 2021, he suffered a torn meniscus, dragging his battered body into the playoffs a year later (again with a fractured orbit, another concussion, and a torn ligament in his thumb), and also suffered a knee sprain last season.
And now this. Embiid returned and posted an impressive plus-15 in the third.
Trailing 65-51, they sparked a 27-7 run to give the Sixers a six-point lead.
But they couldn’t sustain it, and the bench gave up all the progress they made behind Embiid.
And now they’ll have to wait and hope it doesn’t take too long because of the knee.
And the Sixers lost the postseason.
