The Philadelphia 76ers had a big idea to keep Joel Embiid healthy this season, but it seems like that plan isn’t working out as he misses more games.
Current Player Status:
According to a tweet by Tim Bontemps, the Sixers announced that Embiid, Paul George, and Kyle Lowry will not play in the upcoming game against Houston. Meanwhile, Caleb Martin’s status is uncertain.
The Sixers say Joel Embiid, Paul George and Kyle Lowry remain out tomorrow against Houston. Caleb Martin is questionable.
George partially participated in practice, and the rest did not.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps)
Embiid’s Ongoing Struggles:
Embiid has been absent from the last two games due to his left knee swelling up again. He hasn’t returned to practice yet and will miss another game against the Houston Rockets. So far, he’s only played four of Philadelphia’s 16 games this season, contributing to their poor 3-13 record.
Some believe there’s more going on with Embiid’s injury than meets the eye. Sam Amick from The Athletic suggested that something might have happened after Embiid participated fully in Team USA practices post-Olympics.
Are the 76ers hiding a more severe Joel Embiid injury? ๐ง@sam_amick says given reports on Embiid during the Olympics, something went down afterwards that has impacted the superstar.@ChandlerParsons | @TeamLou23 | @MichelleDBeadle
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV)
Concerns Over Injury Management:
The Sixers initially rested Embiid during preseason and for nine regular-season games hoping to protect his knee. Unfortunately, he still ended up injuring itโthe very thing they were trying to avoid! Their strategy also included resting Paul George during back-to-back games; however, George has hyperextended his knee twice already.
We think fans are getting worried about how long this will go on.
What makes things even trickier with Embiid is that there isn’t an obvious incident causing his painโunlike Georgeโs clear injuries. Now wearing a brace on his knee, there’s uncertainty about when he’ll be back on court again.
Knee injuries can be unpredictable; just ask Lonzo Ball or Steven Adams who missed extensive time due to similar issues. The Sixers’ plan was good in theory but maybe too late if Embiid was already hurt before they started resting him more frequently.
Injuries are part of sports lifeโbut sometimes no amount of planning can prevent them entirely!
