Joel Embiid suited up again for the Philadelphia 76ers after missing seven straight games and played like he never missed a beat.
The 2023 MVP scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the win against the Chicago Bulls, the numbers he usually produce when healthy.
His fans, teammates, and coaches raved about his return saying he made things easier for them.
That’s not how Gilbert Arenas sees him though. The three-time All-Star thinks the Sixers center is done for good.
Arenas even referenced what happened to Brandon Roy who had a regretful short 7-year NBA career because of knee injury. Roy was back then among the elites who could go toe-to-toe with late Kobe Bryant.
His knee is done. This is that who most likely the cartilage is gone from his knee and he is out there with no break pad. There’s only so much time before you can go back and so it’s irritated. So you being who you were to really do something, it’s not gonna happen.
Young Brandon Roy, coming in already got cartilages gone. He gonna show signs of greatness but the fact that you don’t have it anymore. Going up and down everyday, you’re not gonna play 82 games. You’re probably not going to play 60 games anymore.
The Washington Wizards legend even thought that Embiid’s body is a decade older than Lebron James’ who is turning 40 next week.
He added that Embiid may looked like ‘ready’ in his first game back but the pain will bite him back after the game.
Joel Embiid says swelling is what’s left on injury
Embiid appears healthy overall in the win against the Bulls. It showed when he struggled in the first half and upped the ante in the next two quarters to will his team to the victory.
As for his knee injury, he said it is no more and what’s left now is the swelling.
However, the bigger challenge for him now is the mental part of dealing with it, describing it as ‘mentally depressing‘.
“I think the whole thing is about health … that’s what it comes down to. I wish I could have been playing from the beginning. I would love to play every single game, every single minute, but sometimes your body just says, ‘No,’ and you can’t do nothing about it. All you can do is just keep working to fix it and get better.”
For the latest Basketball Content
Follow us @HardwoodHeroics for the latest and trending news about NBA, college basketball, and more. Stay updated by reading more of our NBA articles by clicking here and college basketball by clicking here!
