PHILADELPHIA – Amid a ton of frustrations surrounding the Philadelphia 76ers, it's nice to remember that they still have Joel Embiid. The big man dominated the Atlanta Hawks to the tune of 42 points on 14-25 shooting, 10 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks in a 121-109 Sixers win.

But, a massive part of the Joel Embiid experience is injuries. He has already missed games this season (with a non-Covid illness and knee soreness) after dealing with plantar fasciitis in the offseason. Although he is back to playing and doing so at a high level, there are still some health concerns surrounding the Sixers superstar.

When asked after the win against the Hawks if he will play the following day against the Utah Jazz, he said he plans to play. Later, he was asked about his leg after falling in the second quarter and walking gingerly (but remaining in the game). He said that it was his ankle, which felt “pretty sore” after the game, and also addressed some concerns about his shoulder.

“I don't know what happened. But some days I can't lift my arm up. And when I go block shots, I really feel it,” the Sixers superstar said. “I don't know what's going on. But it's whatever.”

Leave it to Embiid to be so nonchalant about a condition like this. The Sixers big man has dealt with tons of injuries over the years and is now playing through some serious pain as James Harden deals with a foot injury. Assistant coach Sam Cassell (who filled in for Doc Rivers in the postgame press conference due to the death of a close friend) jokingly said that Embiid grabs every body part out of pain from an injury. Although he was poking fun at Embiid, he still kind of had a point.

No matter what ails him, though, Embiid does whatever he can to play. He notched 40 minutes against the Hawks after dealing with some conditioning problems but said that he is feeling much better now. The Sixers will hope he is good to go against the surprisingly good Jazz.