The Philadelphia 76ers might have narrowly lost against the New York Knicks in the first of their seven games. While the season is still far from over, this loss points to several issues the Sixers must address immediately.
While Nick Nurse has plenty of adjustments to implement, one of the most important is creating a contingency plan if Joel Embiid goes down with an injury. The seven-time All-Star gave fans a scare late in their game when he went down with an injury.
While he’s more than ready to step up for the team’s next game at the Madison Square Garden, fans have publicly asked if their franchise cornerstone is even good enough to play without worries of injuring himself.
Philadelphia 76ers fans question if Joel Embiid is fit enough after injury scare vs Knicks
The scare happened during the second quarter of the Sixers’ 104-111 loss to the Knicks. Embiid was at the top of the key when he found an open lane to the basket. He then threw a self-oop off the glass to throw it down for a vicious slam.
The entire Sixers bench cleared to celebrate the highlight play, but Embiid fell awkwardly on his knee and immediately crumbled to the floor.
It was a terrifying sight for fans, as Embiid is known throughout the league for his fragile health. Injuries have become synonymous with his game as much as his dominant on-court displays.
His propensity for injury has been so common that fans even argued whether it was a good idea to let Joel Embiid play, as reported by The Spun’s Daniel Bates:
“Embiid should’ve not seen the court the rest of this season after his diagnosis came in. he was always just a fall away from this happening,” Ashley Nicole Moss said. “you have to save a player from themselves sometimes — Philly failed by being greedy for the ‘hope’ of an improbable outcome.”
“He had the surgery. He wanted to play. He talked about how much it impacted his mental health when he was out,” CBS’ John Gonzalez tweeted back. “He’s been one fall away from getting hurt his entire career. by this rationale he would never play again.”
Fortunately for Philly fans, Joel Embiid got back on his feet and play the rest of the match. He had a fantastic outing against the Knicks, finishing the night with 29 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
However, fans will want their star man not to make them tense up like that again. The last thing the Sixers want is to lose another playoff series due to their star man not being present. Moreover, he needs to shut the Knicks fans up after burning his jersey post-game.
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