BROOKLYN, NY — The Philadelphia 76ers find themselves in the familiar territory of playing in the playoffs without Joel Embiid. The superstar big man will miss Game 4 of the Sixers' first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets due to a right knee sprain. Doc Rivers has to rally his troops as they look to pick up a road win in extra difficult circumstances.
Rivers said that he “had a sense” about Embiid missing Game 4 but did not know for certain until it was reported. He took numerous hard falls in a chaotic Game 3 win. When asked what tipped him off that Embiid was really hurt, he pulled the curtain back on what the Sixers' MVP candidate was dealing with physically.
“To my knowledge, 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,” Rivers said to reporters ahead of Game 4. “There was swelling already, which is way too early.
“So, we did the MRI,” the Sixers head coach continued. “As a coach, I hate those three letters because it never comes out well. It just feels 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.”
The Sixers have had some great moments throughout the regular season in the games Embiid missed but the playoffs are a different beast. Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn is looking for the Sixers to play faster and focus on three-point shooting with the big fella sidelined. The pressure falls on James Harden and Tyrese Maxey to lead the Sixers and complete the sweep against the Nets.
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