The Philadelphia 76ers announced that Joel Embiid, one of the NBA MVP finalists, will sit out Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series due to a sprained LCL in his right knee. However, sources revealed that there is optimism surrounding Embiid’s potential availability for Game 2.
According to 76ers coach Doc Rivers, Embiid has shot some after his shootaround, but he hasn’t done any running yet. The star center was seen getting up shots after the team’s practice on Sunday. Rivers said that it’ll just be a matter of the doctors telling him that he’ll be available to play when asked what it will take for Embiid to get back on the court.
Embiid suffered the injury during Game 3 of Philadelphia’s first-round sweep against the Brooklyn Nets on April 20. This injury made it less than 50% likely that Embiid would be able to play in the Eastern Conference semifinals, as mentioned by Rivers after Game 4.
Although the 76ers were given a couple of additional days of rest due to the Atlanta Hawks pushing their first-round series with the Celtics to six games, it wasn’t enough time for Embiid to get on the court. Thus, Philadelphia will have to try to replicate their success throughout the season without Embiid. It is worth noting that the 76ers are now 12-5 without their superstar center after the Game 4 win over the Nets.
Both Rivers and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Philadelphia will play faster and spread the floor more with Embiid sidelined.
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