The Philadelphia 76ers picked up another win on Friday as they knocked off the Washington Wizards on the road for the first time since November of 2013, but all of that is secondary at the moment due to the injury to superstar big man Joel Embiid.
The big fella was having himself another dominant game going for 23 points and seven rebounds in the third quarter. He just had another monstrous dunk on Wizards big man Moe Wagner and then he fell awkwardly and was on the floor writhing in pain while grabbing his left knee.
He then limped to the locker room and it was announced that he would go for an MRI on Saturday as the team weighs its options with him.
“He just felt awkward, to me,” said coach Doc Rivers. “I thought there was a little contact when he went up to dunk the ball. I thought he fell with his balance off. I’m not gonna speculate. Tomorrow, we’ll know we’ll have all the information for you.”
Tobias Harris takes on the de facto leadership mantle when the team is missing its two stars. It did not help things that Ben Simmons could not play in the game, to begin with, due to being in the league’s health and safety protocols.
“It looked like a hyperextension,” said Harris. “That’s what we all hope it is and we’re just praying he’ll be okay and be healthy tomorrow as he gets an MRI. We know how important Joel is to the team. How much emphasis he put on his health and his body this year so it’s unfortunate to see that happen. Just really praying up on it.”
Embiid’s dunk that led to his fall was so monstrous that some did not even see the fall. One just turns around and sees the star player on the ground.
“I didn’t see it all,” said Seth Curry. “I turned around and screamed. I turn around and he was on the ground so I didn’t see it at all.”
When a player of that magnitude takes a hard fall, it can be tough to continue to focus on the game. Sometimes, the focus of trying to win the game becomes secondary and it is all focused on the injury. However, the result of the game was still in the balance. They still have to get the job done.
“Well, you have to,” said Rivers. “I’ve been through this before and you got to get to win first and then you got to hope for the best afterwards and I thought our guys did a pretty good job of focusing. I thought it took us a couple [of] minutes to get going, but once we did, I thought we took care of the game.”
The Sixers have a day off on Saturday before returning home on Sunday to host the San Antonio Spurs where they expect Simmons to return, but they might not have Embiid out there.
“We’re hoping for the best,” Rivers finished. “I did talk to him. He was in the locker room. He’s in pretty good spirits so let’s just hope for the best.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[lawrence-related id=43459,43455,43452]