Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid avoids major injury; will miss 2-3 weeks
Joel Embiid avoids a major injury but will still miss 2-3 weeks for the Philadelphia 76ers.
When Joel Embiid went down grabbing his knee in a game Friday night against the Washington Wizards, it was easy to think of worst-case scenarios for both Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers.
However, after an MRI, it has been revealed that Embiid has avoided a major injury and he has no structural damage in his left knee. Instead, he has been diagnosed with a bone bruise and will likely miss 2-3 weeks.
All in all, this is great news considering the injuries that Embiid could’ve suffered. That said, there will be some fallout with the 2-3 weeks that Embiid is set to miss for the Sixers.
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For one, there’s a chance that Embiid falls out of the MVP lead. If EMbiid misses three weeks, there’s a chance he misses between 12-14 games. That’s nearly a third of the second half of the season and would throw a major blow to his MVP momentum from the first half of the year.
Secondly, you have to wonder what Embiid’s absence will mean for the Sixers’ chances to remain at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. At 26-12, the Sixers are currently first in the East but the Brooklyn Nets are just one game off the pace.
With Embiid out, there’s a good chance that the Sixers take a bit of a step back and the Nets take a step forward, assuming they can remain healthy. In games that Embiid doesn’t play in this season, the Sixers are just 2-5.
And we’re about to find out if that record is just a product of a small sample size or if it’s a more concerning trend that is going to take center stage over the next couple of weeks. Either way, the good news is that the Sixers won’t be without Embiid for the entire season or a few months.
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It’ll be important for Philadelphia to be patient with Embiid and his rehab process. They can’t rush his recovery and need to ensure that he’s 100 percent healthy heading into the playoffs.