The Philadelphia 76ers are off to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the third consecutive season after sweeping the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs. The sweep afforded them extra time to rest, which is needed considering how banged up they are.
Joel Embiid is in an all-too-familiar position: He is dealing with a knee injury. A right knee sprain held him out of the Game 4 clincher over the Nets and coach Doc Rivers is unsure of his availability ahead of the semifinals.
However, NBA insider Shams Charania offered a positive outlook on Embiid:
So he missed their last game, they swept the Brooklyn Nets, and there is optimism that he’ll be able to play in Game 1 of their next series against Boston, I assume, or Atlanta. We’ll see if they’re able to come back, but he had a sprained knee, and I think they believe this is about a one week injury and so assuming the playoffs start this coming weekend, the hope is Joel Embiid will be in the lineup, but, yeah, he went down a few times in that Nets Game 3, but thankfully it wasn’t anything major.
“There is optimism that he’ll be able to play in Game 1 of their next series… He had a sprained knee and I think they believed this is about a 1 week injury”@ShamsCharania with the latest on Joel Embiid’s injury #RunItBack #BrotherlyLove pic.twitter.com/MfdRDrBa6l
— FanDuel TV (@FanDuelTV) April 24, 2023
The Sixers hope the Hawks can extend that series with the Celtics to give Embiid more time. If Boston finishes Atlanta in Game 5 on Tuesday, Game 1 of the semifinals will begin on Saturday, April 29. If the Hawks can extend it to a Game 6 or a Game 7, the semifinals wouldn’t begin until May 1.
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