This afternoon, the Philadelphia 76ers will go for the sweep against the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Joel Embiid has tormented Toronto all series and will be ready to play, though he won't be 100% good to go.
Embiid suffered a right thumb injury that he wore a cast for in practice. Although Philadelphia's superstar big man will still play, the injury is believed to be serious. According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne, there is fear of ligament damage to Embiid's thumb.
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said that Embiid's injury is not a good one and that there is concern about it. It won't keep his MVP candidate down but it is certainly something the team must monitor.
Rivers, when asked directly if Embiid has a ligament tear: “It’s not a good injury. I’ll leave it at that.” https://t.co/VUuvDSyh3K
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) April 23, 2022
Embiid is no stranger to injuries. He has battled them every season of his career, overcoming them each time to lead the Sixers. The 28-year-old is now at the top of his game, as he took home the 2021-22 scoring title with 30.6 points per game. Ahead of the tip-off, he looks as if his thumb isn't slowing him down.
Going through his normal paces pregame. Jumper has looked fine pic.twitter.com/UIPojyNeNQ
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) April 23, 2022
Winning Game 4 against the Raptors will be key for the Sixers, who have title aspirations on their minds. Clinching the series and getting a little more rest will be key. Joel Embiid will fight for his first championship no matter how he is feeling, but he has a whole lot more games in the NBA playoffs to reach it. Getting more time to recover will help a lot.
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