The Philadelphia 76ers experienced a double whammy on Friday night against the New Orleans Pelicans. Aside from absorbing a disappointing 101-94 defeat at Smoothie King Center, the Sixers might also lose Joel Embiid to injury once more.
Shortly after the match, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers revealed that his superstar center might have re-aggravated his injury after a scary fall against the Pels. While he expects the Cameroonian to be ready in the second game of their back-to-back versus the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, the team will still keep a close eye on him, per Kyle Neubeck of the Philly Voice.
Rivers says original plan was for Embiid to (likely) play tomorrow but after taking an awkward fall tonight that’s a little more up in the air heading into OKC
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) April 10, 2021
The Sixers are understandably taking the cautious approach with Joel Embiid considering he just got back from a serious left knee bone bruise. Plus, it's always wise to err on the side of caution considering the 27-year-old's injury history over the years.
Embiid did struggle against New Orleans, finishing with just 14 points, nine rebounds, one assist and two blocks in 31 minutes. He had a hard time against NOLA center Steven Adams, as he made just five of his 16 attempts from the floor and missed all three of his 3-pointers.
With the loss, the Sixers dropped to second place in the Eastern Conference with a 35-17 slate. They are now two games behind the Brooklyn Nets for the top spot in the East. Despite their slide as of late, Philly is still in a good place at the moment.
As tempting as it is to let JoJo play in their next game, it might be best to sit him out of this one. After all, Philly will be up against a lowly Thunder team and they should still be able to win that game sans their best player.
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