Tag: Joel Embiid

Complete injury report for Joel Embiid, Sixers vs. Knicks for Game 4

Here is the complete injury report for Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers against the New York Knicks in Gam 4.

The Philadelphia 76ers look to even their first round series with the New York Knicks in Game 4 on Sunday afternoon. After two tough losses to begin the series, the Sixers bounced back with a big win in Game 3.

As Philadelphia prepares for a critical Game 4, it will be without Robert Covington due to a left knee bone bruise. He has not played since Dec. 30, and coach Nick Nurse said he will not return this season.

As for Joel Embiid, he is once again listed as questionable due to left knee injury recovery. He was listed as questionable for the previous three games as well and ended up playing, so one has to assume that he will likely play in this one when the ball is tipped.

Tipoff from the Wells Fargo Center is set for 1 p.m. EDT. Philadelphia would love to head back to New York in a 2-2 series rather than being down 3-1.

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Nic Batum impressed by Joel Embiid, challenges Sixers to help him

Nic Batum praises Joel Embiid for his impressive performance and challenges the other Philadelphia 76ers to help him.

CAMDEN, N.J. — With the season essentially on the line for the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday in Game 3 of their first-round series, Joel Embiid stepped up to the challenge.

Already trailing the series 2-0, there was no way the Sixers could drop Game 3. No team in NBA history has ever rallied from a 3-0 deficit and won a playoff series.

Embiid scored a playoff career-high 50 points to get the job done. It was that signature playoff moment that had been missing from his resume thus far. To do that while dealing with the knee issue and Bell’s Palsy makes what he did that much more impressive.

“It’s impressive,” marveled Nic Batum on Saturday. “That’s impressive. He’s going through physically a lot. His face and his knee and he’s finding a way to get through that anyway, and show up anyway, and be there for the team. You know, he and I are very close, so I knew about it like a week ago already. So like knowing like, all of that and still seeing him play and trying to give everything he can for the team and have 50 last game. I was like, ‘Woah not 100% to get 50 against a tough team, a physical team.”

The Sixers have a luxury in Embiid. When a possession isn’t going well for them, they know they can dump the ball to the big fella and let him go to work. His scoring 50 is an impressive performance.

However, Batum knows the other Sixers have to step up.

“So that’s great when your best player can do that,” he finished. “All of us has to show up and be good as well.”

The Sixers look to even the series with a win on Sunday afternoon at home.

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Kelly Oubre Jr. fires back at Knicks over comments regarding Joel Embiid

Philadelphia 76ers forward Kelly Oubre Jr. fires back at the New York Knicks regarding their comments over Joel Embiid.

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks have played three tough and physical games thus far. The Knicks hold a 2-1 series lead in Round 1, but things were extra chippy in Game 3.

Joel Embiid drew the ire of the Knicks when he committed a flagrant-1 foul on New York big man Mitchell Robinson. One could definitely make the case that it should have been a flagrant-2 and an ejection when considering Embiid grabbed Robinson’s leg.

Afterward, the Knicks were not happy. Donte DiVincenzo called it a dirty play and even former New York big man Charles Oakley got involved with a message to Embiid. Philadelphia’s big man said he was trying to protect himself and Kelly Oubre Jr. fired back at the Knicks in protection of Embiid.

“I’ve seen that happen before and I was on the other end of it,” Oubre said at practice on Saturday. “So at the end of the day, like, I don’t think it’s dirty man. Jo has to protect himself. At the end of the day, I’m not gonna comment on what they’re commenting on because at the end of the day, they’re gonna hit and then we hit back and then they cry, and then vice versa, whatever the case may be.”

Ahead of Game 4 on Sunday, there are some who wonder about the physicality level in that matchup with so much on the line. Philadelphia has a chance to even the series at 2-2 while New York has a chance to go up 3-1. The basketball should be the focus. Not whether guys are going to fight or anything.

“It’s like, let’s just hoop,” Oubre finished. “Let’s go out there and play hard and nobody’s gonna fight. This ain’t WWE. So at the end of the day, stand on the stuff that’ll say so we’ll see tomorrow how they react.”

Game 4 is set for 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday from the Wells Fargo Center.

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Knicks enforcer Charles Oakley calls out Sixers star Joel Embiid

New York Knicks enforcer Charles Oakley calls out Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid for the flagrant-1 foul from Game 3.

The Philadelphia 76ers were able to come up with a pivotal 125-114 win over the New York Knicks in Game 3 thanks to Joel Embiid scoring a playoff career-high 50 points. The big fella is dealing with Bell’s Palsy and dealing with a knee injury and still dropped 50 in a win.

However, a big factor in Game 3 was Embiid being called for a flagrant-1 foul on Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson in the first quarter. He grabbed Robinson’s leg while he was trying to jump and one could argue it should have been a flagrant-2 foul and an ejection for Embiid.

Back in the 90’s, the Knicks had a big man named Charles Oakley who was the team’s enforcer in a way. He would be the guy who would protect New York’s stars and do things to bother his opponents.

He spoke with NewsDay and discussed how he would handle the Embiid situation:

“I probably would have smacked him,” Oakley said.

“If I’m the Knicks, this is what I do. I’m putting him in every pick-and-roll,” Oakley said. “Make him work . . . Then you might want to set a hard pick on him. Let’s see how it feels when someone puts you out there.”

Oakley comes from an era where physical play was allowed and it was a rough and tough era. Smacking somebody in today’s game would likely result in a rather long suspension.

Either way, it’s obvious the Knicks are not happy with the Embiid play from Game 3. It will be interesting to see what happens in Game 4 on Sunday as the Sixers look to even the series.

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Nick Nurse discusses Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey tandem for Sixers

Coach Nick Nurse discusses the Joel Embiid-Tyrese Maxey tandem for the Philadelphia 76ers.

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers will go as far as Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey take them. The star duo have been terrific in this Round 1 series with the New York Knicks which Philadelphia currently trails 2-1.

Embiid is averaging 37.7 points while Maxey is at 31.0 points per game through the first three contests. The two of them have kept Philadelphia in this series and have overcome a lot of adversity to get the Sixers on the board in the playoffs.

Coach Nick Nurse has seen the two of them continue to grow in his first season as coach of the Sixers and is looking to them to lead the way.

“I know they’re a good tandem,” said Nurse. “They’re both really great people, they both care a lot, and they’re both superstars, right? So they’re in kind of that boat together a little bit. After watching the tape again this morning (from Game 3), Tyrese is starting to do some stuff now. He’s really directing traffic. It kind of hit me today how much he was insisting on people getting to place, and I think Joel’s helped him with that — kind of co-leading.”

Embiid and Maxey are the obvious leaders of this group. Embiid is looking to get Philadelphia over the hump in the Eastern Conference. Maxey is looking to continue to grow as a leader and build on his current stardom with a strong playoff run.

After games, one can see Embiid and Maxey having chats in the locker room. The two of them will continue to talk things out and try and get the Sixers moving forward. Sometimes, Kyle Lowry will join them for their chats as well. That helps in the leadership department.

“Kyle helps him, too,” Nurse finished. “Kyle’s obviously been that kind of guy for his whole life, right? And I think they’re doing a good job with some leadership stuff. Probably what they’re talking about is what we can do better as a team.”

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Sixers’ Joel Embiid gives thoughts on Tyrese Maxey winning MIP

Joel Embiid gives his thoughts on Philadelphia 76ers teammate Tyrese Maxey winning the Most Improved Player award.

PHILADELPHIA — Young Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey has taken big steps forward as a player throughout the four seasons of his career. In the 2023-24 season, the Sixers put the ball in Maxey’s hands as the point guard amid the James Harden drama and he didn’t blink.

Maxey averaged 25.9 points, 6.2 assists, and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 45% from the floor and 37.3% from deep. Those numbers led him to his first All-Star appearance as well as winning the Most Improved Player award.

Joel Embiid, who has been Maxey’s biggest supporter since being drafted in 2020, was proud of his younger teammate for the accomplishment.

“It’s been amazing,” Embiid said of Maxey. “Obviously, I’ve had him since he was a rookie. The steps that he’s taken every single year has been amazing. Like I always say, the hardest worker that I’ve ever been around. He’s always happy. He’s taken another step. I mean, he’s been our best player this whole season and he needs to take another step for us to win.”

To Embiid’s point, Maxey has been Philadelphia’s best player due to the big fella missing two months due to a meniscus procedure on his left knee. He had to be in order to keep Philadelphia afloat until his return.

Now, Maxey’s averaging 31.0 points per game in Round 1 against the New York Knicks. He has continued to be a constant next to Embiid amid a lot of changes and drama the team has had to battle through in the past.

“He’s gonna have to keep stepping up and taking on those challenges, but every single year—we’ve dealt with so much drama and he’s the constant,” Embiid added. “I just keep coming up, like, finally! We have this one guy just a franchise player. He’s just always happy. Everybody wants to be around him.”

Maxey continues to take steps forward in his game. As long as he is on the floor next to Embiid, the Sixers are always going to have a shot.

“He plays hard,” Embiid finished. “A good basketball player, obviously, but a great human being, and throughout what we went through, and we finally find that guy. It’s great and he’s amazing.”

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Tobias Harris seeing Joel Embiid continue to be a fighter, leader for Sixers

Tobias Harris sees Joel Embiid continuing to grow as a fighter and a leader for the Philadelphia 76ers.

PHILADELPHIA — Game 3 on Thursday night could have gone off the rails for Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. Trailing the New York Knicks 2-0 and the series shifting to the Wells Fargo Center, there was already a lot of hype and intensity for this matchup.

Embiid appeared to be doing a bit too much. He picked up a tough offensive foul, was screaming at officials, and was then called for a flagrant-1 foul when he grabbed Mitchell Robinson’s leg while he was on the ground.

When weird things happen like that in the past, it normally spelled trouble for the Sixers. Instead, Embiid shook that off and dropped a career playoff-high 50 points on only 19 field goal attempts. He was masterful all night long in a win.

“I saw him extremely composed out there for the whole group, obviously,” said Tobias Harris who has played with Embiid the longest on this roster. “After those first two fouls that happened from then on, he was setting balance into the game. So, that was a huge reason why we got the victory tonight and also a 50-point performance from him.”

Harris has been with Embiid through every playoff run. He has seen the ups and the downs. He has seen him continue to grow as a fighter and a leader for the Sixers. He sees the hunger he has shown to continue to improve as a player.

“He’s always a fighter for the group and wants to win and wants to contribute,” Harris added. “I’m not in the man’s body so I don’t know what he’s going through, but as anybody in this locker room will say, we’re just happy to have him out there with us.”

No matter what happens in this series, or even this playoff run as a whole, Embiid deserves everybody’s respect. He is putting his body on the line for the city of Philadelphia and the entire Sixers franchise. He probably shouldn’t be playing when considering the knee injury and the Bell’s Palsy, but he is out there and putting up incredible performances.

“All of us in the locker room, we understand what he means for this team and the impact he brings to our group,” Harris finished. “So when we have him on the floor, we know we are that much of a better team.”

The Sixers will look to even the series with a Game 4 win on Sunday.

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Nick Nurse addresses Joel Embiid’s Bell’s Palsy, chippy play from Game 3

Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse addresses Joel Embiid’s Bell’s Palsy as well as the chippiness from the Game 3 win.

CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers came away with a pivotal, 125-114, Game 3 win over the New York Knicks on Thursday thanks to the heroics of Joel Embiid. The big fella put up 50 points on 13-for-19 shooting and 19-for-21 from the free-throw line.

Afterward, he discussed dealing with Bell’s Palsy which is affecting the muscles on the left side of his face. He admitted it has been tough for him to see at times. That means he is battling through not only that issue, but also is still recovering from the meniscus injury in his left knee.

Coach Nick Nurse was repeatedly asked about Embiid’s eye issue in the past, but Embiid wanted it to remain private, so Nurse respected his wishes. Now that it’s out in the open, Nurse addressed the issue.

“So basically, there’s kind of the daily check in on him,” Nurse said on Friday. “Just to make sure if he’s available or not and that’s kinda always the answer that I’m trying to get to. Obviously, he kinda had this — I kinda consider a personal thing and I just was always just wondering where he was and, obviously, you know it’s affecting him, but not to the point where he can’t see and he can’t play.”

To Embiid’s credit, he is putting his body on the line at the moment for the city of Philadelphia and wants to push through to lead the Sixers. Nurse waits for the daily updates from the medical team.

“That’s where I’m always at,” Nurse continued. “There’s a lot of other people working to see where they’re at and they gotta get the information to me. He’s obviously dealing with a lot, but he’s obviously playing through it.”

Considering Embiid’s dealing with all that and still dropping 50 points in a playoff game, Nurse was impressed: His eyes grew wide and he said “absolutely” when asked about that.

On the flip side, there was a great deal of chippiness in Game 3. Embiid was called for a flagrant-one foul in the first quarter when he grabbed Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson’s leg when Embiid was in an awkward position on the floor. One could have argued it was a flagrant-two and should have led to an ejection.

As a coach, Nurse understands the stakes as the series continues to grow more physical.

“I think about every time these two teams play each other — regular season or playoffs — it’s a rivalry, man,” Nurse stated. “It’s intense. It’s got history. It’s physical. Now, it’s the playoffs on top of it, right? As far as did I say ‘Hey calm down’? No. I think they were kinda isolated incidents. It seemed like they happened right on top of each other there for a bit. They just happened, but it’s physical, man. You never know when there’s gonna be a real physical play in that game. It just so happened to be early.”

Game 4 is Sunday afternoon in Philadelphia.

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Donte DiVincenzo, Knicks call out Joel Embiid following flagrant foul

Donte DiVincenzo and the New York Knicks call out Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid following his flagrant one foul in Game 3.

PHILADELPHIA — Play grew chippy in Game 3 between the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks. Joel Embiid was called for a questionable offensive foul in the first quarter and expressed his frustrations to the officials.

Later in the first, Embiid was in a awkward position. He was lying on the baseline underneath the basket and Knicks big man Mitchell Robinson went up for a shot. Embiid grabbed at his leg, which he said was an attempt to protect himself, but the Knicks aren’t buying it.

Donte DiVincenzo, among others, confronted Embiid, who was called for a flagrant one foul, after the play. The officials stepped in to separate everybody, and Embiid was screaming at every New York player in his vicinity.

After the game, DiVincenzo called out Embiid, saying it was a dirty play.

Lead official Zach Zarba told a pool report about the play:

In that situation, the crew gets together, we go and review the foul. In this instance, the crew was unanimous along with the replay center official in Secaucus that this foul was unnecessary but did not rise to the level of a flagrant 2. The unnecessary contact rose to the level of a flagrant 1, but we were unanimous that this did not rise to the level of excessive contact, unnecessary and excessive, which would have been a flagrant 2 ejection. That’s why we kept it a flagrant 1.

Josh Hart also said his piece on Embiid. He pointed out the injury to Robinson who left the game with an ankle issue. Now, the leg that Embiid grabbed was Robinson’s right leg. New York’s big man left with a left ankle issue. There is no indication Embiid’s play caused the injury to Robinson.

The series will continue to get chippy as the Sixers look to even it at 2 on Sunday in Game 4.

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Joel Embiid left wondering ‘Why me?’ as ailments pile up for Sixers’ star

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid left wondering “why me?” as ailments continue to pile up for him.

PHILADELPHIA — The hits keep coming for Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid. The star continues to deal with an assortment of ailments he has to battle through to be available for the Sixers.

After scoring 50 points in a 125-114 Game 3 win over the New York Knicks on Thursday, Embiid disclosed he had been diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy. The ailment is on top of his ongoing recovery from the meniscus injury in his left knee.

“Every single year, you start asking yourself questions like, ‘Why?’” Embiid said after the win. “Every single year, it’s very annoying. Maybe it’s just meant to be. Just got to take it as it is, but the one thing I’m not going to do is give up. No matter what happens, got to keep pushing, got to keep fighting. Got to keep putting my body on the line for my family, for this city, for this team.”

Since entering the league in 2014, Embiid has dealt with some type of injury annually. He had foot injuries early in his career, orbital fractures in 2018 and 2022 and a torn thumb ligament in 2022. He also suffered a meniscus injury in the 2021 playoffs and had a knee sprain in the 2023 playoffs.

It really is unfortunate that he has dealt with so much.

“It goes through your mind and you can ask yourself those questions, but what are you going to do about it?” Embiid added. “Are you going to quit or are you going to keep going? And if you keep going, what are you going to do about it? The best thing you can do is do the best job possible to prepare yourself every single day, which I’ve done. Sometimes you get the results, sometimes you don’t, but if there’s one thing I’ll say about myself, it’s that I’m not going to quit.”

Even with the injury to his knee and the Bell’s Palsy at the moment, he still dropped a playoff career-high 50 points against the Knicks. He has been a warrior in this series thus far.

“I just love playing the game,” he said. “I just want to be on the floor as much as possible. I want to play as much as possible. I’ve only got about maybe eight years left, so I’ve got to enjoy it as much as possible and I want to win. I think going from the knee injury — I think mentally — the stress, that might be part of it. Like I’ve been saying, mentally, it’s just been so draining, depressing. That could be part of it, so I need to take care of myself mentally and physically.”

Embiid continues to be there for the city of Philadelphia. The fans in this city should be appreciative of what he has brought to the Sixers.

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