Joel Embiid injury update: Doc Rivers says he’s ‘not sure’ if 76ers star could return in first round

NEW YORKPhiladelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid will miss Game 4 against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday, and Sixers coach Doc Rivers said that he’s not sure about the MVP candidate’s status beyond that. 

“I don’t know,” Rivers said when asked if he senses that Embiid will be out as long as the first-round series goes. “I can’t answer that. But I’m not sure. I will say that.”

Philadelphia leads the series 3-0, after a 102-97 win on Thursday in which Embiid sprained his right knee. Despite the injury, Embiid played 38 minutes in Game 3 and blocked Spencer Dinwiddie at the rim in crunch time.

“The blocked shot was huge,” Rivers said. “But from my understanding, they checked his knee out right after the game because he was complaining about some [soreness] behind the knee, which is always a scary thing when it’s behind the knee with players. And there was swelling already, which is way too early, so we did the MRI. 

“As a coach, I hate that word,” he continued. “I hate those three letters. Because it never comes out well. It just feel like that, whenever they tell the coach, ‘Hey, we’re going to get an MRI,’ it doesn’t turn out well most of the time. And this one did not.”

Brooklyn has been aggressively double-teaming Embiid all series. Paul Reed will start in Embiid’s place on Saturday, and he will not receive the same treatment. 

“If they would like to trap all our 5s tonight, I would be really appreciative of that. I don’t think they should change their game plan at all,” Rivers joked. “But I got a feeling they will. And so we have to almost figure that out as the game goes on. I mean, it’ll be new coverages. I think our guys have to be ready for that.” 

In 36 minutes without Embiid in the series, the Nets and Sixers have played to a draw, with each team scoring a putrid 100 points per 100 possessions. In the regular season, Philadelphia was outscored by 1.5 points per 100 possessions without Embiid on the court.

“We’ve got a collection of bigs,” Rivers said. “We have a lot of guys that can play basketball on our team. And we’ve got to find the right group that can win games for us. 

Saturday’s absence means that Embiid has missed at least one postseason game because of injury or illness in five of the last six seasons. 

“I talked to him last night. I mean, obviously, clearly, that’s on your mind. Like, it is,” Rivers said. “But, as I said [to him]: ‘This is another obstacle in the story that we’re going to write this year. And you’re going to be OK. It may take a minute, but this is just part of it.’ He’s human. And goodness, this happens again. So, let’s win, let’s get him back on the floor and let’s just keep on our own journey.”

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