PHILADELPHIA — The biggest story around the NBA at the moment is the meniscus injury of Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid. The big fella underwent a procedure to repair his left knee, and the Sixers will be without the reigning league MVP for at least another month.
That means the Sixers have to find a way to win games without Embiid. Philadelphia is 4-11 without him heading into a matchup with the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night. The Sixers are sliding in the Eastern Conference standings without him and need to bust out of this slump.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who is also the head coach of the U.S. men’s basketball national team, touched on Embiid’s injury on Wednesday. He wished him well and said he hopes Embiid can play in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“It’s disappointing regardless,” Kerr said. “We want everybody healthy. Especially, our star players in the league because they’re the ones who really drive the entertainment and that’s what our business is, and then for us with USA, our fingers are crossed that he’ll be healthy this summer and able to play because he’s an amazing player and we’re really excited to have him part of the program.”
Kerr and the Warriors have been through something similar to what the Sixers are going through. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have missed extended time during their careers. Kerr sympathizes with what coach Nick Nurse and the Sixers are going through.
“You really have to look at the season in the big picture and recognize that there’s gonna be weird times,” he explained. “There’s gonna be times when you go through injuries, slumps, whatever. I think (Heat coach) Erik Spoelstra said something, they had lost seven in a row a couple weeks ago and he said it’s hard to explain, but it’s one of those weird occurrences during the year, but you have to keep plugging away and you have to fight your way out of it. We all go through it.”
The Warriors have battled through the many challenges they have faced. Now the Sixers look to fight through similar challenges as they try to stay afloat without Embiid.
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