The horizon of Philadelphia suddenly cleared up in the space of a few hours, between the victory in Game 1 of the semi-final of the conference on the floor of Boston, the announcement of the title of MVP awarded to Joel Embiid and that of his return to training yesterday after contracting a sprained right knee almost two weeks ago.
For Doc Rivers, the resounding success of his team in Game 1 does not change the situation of Joel Embiid. Basically, if he is fit, he will play, even if he lacks rhythm. The Sixers will not afford the luxury of doing without it even if they took the advantage in the series from the first game.
“There is no change in his status. But he practiced today. He’s down there with some of our guys right now, and I’ll get the report when he gets back. But the fact that he does that is a step forward, that’s for sure.”, he explained. “It’s just a matter of health. If he can play, he plays. If he can’t, he can’t. And if it’s 50-50, we’ll rather not play him, because that’s what we’ve been doing all year.
Still steps to complete before the green light
What will help the medical staff to make a decision on the morning of Game 2 will be mainly conditioned by the knee reaction to this return to training, which started in the pool.
“This is the key to the problem”, confirmed Joel Embiid. “That’s why we do this, because we have to do it the day before to see if, the next day, there is swelling. In this case, even if it looks good and I feel good, it’s no. That’s what we’ll find out tomorrow.”
Doc Rivers also mentioned the fitness issue. On this point, difficult to imagine Joel Embiid in uniform unless it is to play under restriction, around 15-20 minutes of play.
“Even though we had a whole week of practice and rest, we were exhausted in the first five minutes of Game 1, which is when you haven’t played in the playoffs for a week.”he recalled. “When he comes back, whether it’s for Game 2 or 3 or when he comes back, he’ll be tired and we’ll have to watch him. This will be a new element to take into account”.
| Joel Embiid | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2016-17 | PHL | 31 | 25 | 46.6 | 36.7 | 78.3 | 2.0 | 5.9 | 7.8 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 20.2 |
| 2017-18 | PHL | 63 | 30 | 48.3 | 30.8 | 76.9 | 2.3 | 8.7 | 11.0 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 3.7 | 1.8 | 22.9 |
| 2018-19 | PHL | 64 | 34 | 48.4 | 30.0 | 80.4 | 2.5 | 11.1 | 13.6 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 27.5 |
| 2019-20 | PHL | 51 | 30 | 47.7 | 33.1 | 80.7 | 2.8 | 8.9 | 11.6 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 23.0 |
| 2020-21 | PHL | 51 | 31 | 51.3 | 37.7 | 85.9 | 2.2 | 8.4 | 10.6 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 28.5 |
| 2021-22 | PHL | 68 | 34 | 49.9 | 37.1 | 81.4 | 2.2 | 9.6 | 11.7 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 30.6 |
| 2022-23 | PHL | 66 | 35 | 54.8 | 33.0 | 85.7 | 1.7 | 8.4 | 10.2 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 33.1 |
| Total | 394 | 32 | 50.1 | 33.7 | 81.9 | 2.2 | 8.9 | 11.2 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 27.2 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
