DENVER – Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid missed Saturday afternoon’s 111-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets and MVP challenger Nikola Jokic with left knee soreness.
After going through his typical pregame drills before the game, the team’s medical staff didn’t like the way the reigning NBA MVP was moving and elected to suspend him for the game. Before Saturday’s game, Embiid had a large cloth wrapped around his knee in the locker room.
“Not until about 20-25,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said when asked when he knew Embiid wouldn’t be able to play. “He did go out and do his usual warm-ups and the medical team just didn’t like what they saw… They just thought it was safer and safer for him not to play today.”
Embiid missed three games with the same issue earlier this month and sprained his knee again in Thursday’s road loss to the Indiana Pacers, though it’s unclear whether he will miss the injury this time for how long.
Nurse said Embiid, Tyrese Maxey (ankle) and Tobias Harris (illness) will all be reevaluated before Sunday’s game against the Trail Blazers in Portland.
Philadelphia will travel to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night before concluding a five-game road trip at Utah on Thursday night.
“Obviously, Joel felt really good after the Spurs game,” Nurse said. “We went to Indiana. He didn’t look good in Indiana as far as his movement. I was a little worried there.
“Again, I don’t think it’s a big deal, but they’re always monitoring any swelling or anything that happens and trying to control it and get him ready as quickly as possible.”
Also compounded by Embiid’s absence on Saturday is the fact that he wasn’t listed on the pregame injury report at all, even though, as Nurse said, his action looked… limited.
After Embiid was not listed on the injury report, the final injury could lead to an NBA investigation into the circumstances of his absence and why he was not listed on the injury report in the first place. Last season, for example, the Miami Heat were fined $25,000 after Jimmy Butler injured his back by not appearing on the injury report, and the league said the fine was for “failure to comply with the league’s injury reporting policy.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he expected an investigation to take place.
“I don’t know how you go from active and available to out,” Malone said. “I’m sure the league will do their due diligence because it’s unwelcome. We’ve had conversations with the league this year and if we had a player go from active to sidelined, there would be an investigation. I’m sure that will happen. .
“Joel hurt his knee in the Indiana game. It’s true. We watched the game. He hurt his knee in that Indiana game, so I’m sure he was injured, but when a player and a ball like ours It’s really tough when the team is preparing. For them, and then all of a sudden at the last minute, he’s out. But we have to handle these situations better.”
Regardless, Embiid has not played in the arena for four consecutive seasons since Embiid and Jokic began their annual battle for the league’s highest individual honors in 2020-21.
Embiid missed one game in March 2021 with a meniscus injury, November 2021 with COVID-19, and then March 2023 with a calf issue.
Embiid’s string of missed games in Denver over the past few seasons has been a storyline, including him missing the two teams’ game in Denver at the end of the 2022-23 regular season amid a debate over who should win the MVP award. The most intense. In the end, Embiid earned his first win, defeating Jokic, who would go on to win his third straight game.
Meanwhile, fans in Denver shouted “Where’s Embiid?” midway through the first quarter after the Denver Nuggets took an early lead.
He received another round of cheers late in the game after coming off the bench in the fourth quarter. After greeting the crowd, they gave him another round of boos.
“I think it’s always disappointing, and I think it’s always disappointing for any fan who wants to see star players play,” he said when asked about fans’ thoughts on seeing the 76ers’ top three Nurse said when asked how players feel about missing games.
“Listen, he really wanted to play, but the medical team didn’t think he was fit to play today. It’s too bad for those fans. It’s too bad.”
Missing Saturday’s game also causes Embiid to miss 11 games this season, which puts him one step closer to being eligible for this season’s MVP. Under new player participation rules implemented this season, players who appear in fewer than 65 games are ineligible for many season-ending honors, including MVP and All-Pro.
Embiid now only has to miss six of Philadelphia’s final 38 games to win his second consecutive MVP award.
However, on the court, the 76ers, who had no stars to speak of, were almost upset. They took the lead after three quarters and tied midway through the fourth quarter. In the end, the Denver Nuggets tied the score with 26 points, 16 rebounds and 7 assists.
“I was disappointed when we learned that Joel Embiid wasn’t going to play tonight,” Malone said. “I think everybody was relieved, and when you do that in this industry, you just It’s possible to create fun games like today. So first of all, credit to them…these guys did a great job and we were lucky enough to come out and get a win here today, to be honest with you.”
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