Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has already been ruled out for Thursday’s contest versus the Boston Celtics as he deals with a torn ligament in his hand in the wake of a severe finger dislocation that he sustained Monday against Oklahoma City. Sixers coach Brett Brown certainly didn’t sound optimistic about getting his All-Star center back soon as he stated before Thursday’s game:
“We’ll learn more, all of us, very soon,” per Derek Bodner of The Athletic.
As for getting back in the foreseeable future? Brown was even more vague, saying:
“I don’t know about the foreseeable future. It is disappointing for him not to play tonight, of course.”
Through his first 31 games this season, Embiid has averaged 23.4 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per night, having established himself as a double-double threat on a nightly basis.
He has helped propel the Sixers to a 24-14 record entering play Thursday, which has given the team a hold on the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Without him in the mix Thursday, Al Horford will slide over to his traditional center slot, while veteran Kyle O’Quinn is expected to see heavy usage as a reserve. While the duo should be able to hold down the fort, they lack Embiid’s explosive nature on both ends of the court.
Whether or not Brown was just philosophically waxing poetic about Embiid’s injury status remains to be seen, but getting the anchor of the team’s defense and its leading scorer back in the mix figures to be paramount to Philadelphia’s continued success this season.
Follow Us
Subscribe