The Philadelphia 76ers are already missing Ben Simmons due to a knee injury which most likely ends his season. On Sunday night, things got worse for the team as they lost Joel Embiid to an ankle injury in the first quarter that held him out for the rest of a 124-121 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Afterward, coach Brett Brown did not offer much in terms of Embiid’s injury going forward, he now has to find a balance. He has to be able to help the team find a rhythm on the floor and he also has to deliver a healthy team to the playoffs. So where does that leave the big fella in terms of his minutes if he can, in fact, play?
“I’m going to learn more physically. I don’t know enough to comment on it,” he said. “I think it’s true for everybody where you want an honest medical assessment of anything that equals a potential problem, you just want to avoid. Landing the plane, entering the playoffs from this vision line of a bubble and time off and tip-toeing on pins and needles where you don’t want people to get injured and still find a rhythm, that’s a slippery slope.”
The one positive sign is that Embiid did come back to the bench and he was more engaged with his teammates. He was smiling and he was in the huddles during timeouts and giving out some advice.
“Every time I looked behind the bench, he’s into it,” Brown added. “I thought our guys fought. I thought the spirit of the group was fantastic. I think that we called upon many different players that I think played with a spirit, a passion that you’re proud of. Joel was fully engaged as a teammate. As it relates to his injury, I can’t comment. It was great just to see him part of the group.”
The Sixers were able to get a big game out of Josh Richardson in his place as he scored 34 points, but he knows the Sixers need the All-Star big man to be healthy to have a chance going forward.
“It’s not positive, honestly,” said Richardson. “We’re kind of nervous, hoping it wasn’t too bad, but honestly, you never want to see your teammates get hurt. When it’s your best player, it’s definitely a bigger hit so we just try and pick the slack up.”
Philadelphia takes on the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday and it will be interesting to see if Embiid will be ready to go. [lawrence-related id=36576,36570,36558]