The last time Joel Embiid took the floor for the Philadelphia 76ers was on Jan. 30 against the Golden State Warriors. That night, Embiid was injured while falling in a collision with Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga. He underwent surgery on Feb. 6 to repair the meniscus tear in his left knee.
The big fella hasn’t played since, and the Sixers have struggled to stay afloat in his absence. They have relied on the All-Star play of Tyrese Maxey and the coaching adjustments made by Nick Nurse.
Before their matchup with the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, Nurse gave an encouraging update on Embiid as he told reporters:
We had a non-contact practice so he was able to go through that. We have always said that we hope he’s going to get back to play. He is on the court. I’m not — I don’t want to say daily — but almost every day now where he’s on the court doing basketball things. All the checkups have been positive and we’re just trying to — he’s kind of in the ramp-up phase now. What can he handle and when can he start having contact and when can he start playing one-on-one and when can he start playing five-on-five? When can he go through a practice with contact and then we’ll be really close.
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#76ers coach Nick Nurse said Joel Embiid (knee) is in "ramp up" phase to start the steps of playing 1-on-1, playing 5-on-5, then having contact practice to playing in a game. #Suns pic.twitter.com/Pf5VNbrmRm
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 21, 2024
If the Sixers can have Embiid return before the playoffs, then they will have a strong chance to make a deep run into the postseason. Of course, a lot will depend on how looks when he returns from such a long layoff, but if he’s anywhere near the player he was before the injury, then Philadelphia will be in a great position.
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