The Philadelphia Sixers were without Joel Embiid for their last two games before the All-Star break, both losses, due to right knee soreness. ESPN reported that the star center first felt the soreness after he dropped 33 points in 33 minutes in Saturday's win over Phoenix. While the soreness has reportedly gone down since then, fans are rightfully still very worried.
Being without your star player due to any injury is always a reason for concern, but especially when that player is Embiid. Oh, and especially when it pertains to his knees. He had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee last April, the second time he had surgery on that knee in as many years.
Embiid will continue to miss games for the rest of his career due to knee injury management with his lengthy injury history. It's something Philadelphia has and will continue to consider. Perhaps the Sixers got a little too excited about the star's dominance since the start of the calendar year, relying on him a little too much. Maybe that's what the soreness stemmed from.
Fans hope it's nothing more than that. The organization doesn't seem all that bothered by it, but again, that doesn't do much to make fans feel better. Both sides will have a better idea of where he's at after the break.
Sixers star Joel Embiid is dealing with knee soreness again
Embiid averaged 29.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game in 14 contests in January, shooting 53.7% from the field in 34.1 minutes. Philadelphia lost only four of those games, and besides the 133-107 loss to Cleveland on Jan. 14, the Sixers didn't lose by more than three points in the other losses.
Philadelphia currently sits No. 6 in the East, 1.5 games back from No. 5 Toronto, and five games back from No. 2 Boston. Believe it or not, after years of crushed hopes, the Sixers can make real noise in the playoffs. They'll need Embiid, though, which takes us back to where we started.
Can he return after the break and stay healthy? Will his body be able to withstand a playoff series? And another? And maybe even another? It's really, really hard to believe so.
Hopefully, this isn't anything more than what the Sixers are making it out to be. Embiid has dealt with far more injuries than most players. He doesn't need another setback, not when he's worked so hard to get to where he is.