Joel Embiid looked as good as he has all season Wednesday in Memphis but the Grizzlies made it rain from three-point land, Paul George injured his left knee, and the Sixers lost their fifth consecutive game.
Joel Embiid will play in a mere four of the Sixers’ first 16 games.
A Sixers official said Friday night during the team's win over the Nets that Embiid, in addition to sitting against Brooklyn, will also be out Sunday against the Clippers.
Embiid is “managing swelling in his left knee,” according to the official, who said the seven-time All-Star “is receiving treatment and further updates on his status will be provided early next week.”
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The Sixers’ team health and on-court performance have both been woeful to start the season. Embiid, who had surgery on his left lateral meniscus in February, missed the beginning of this campaign with a “left knee injury management” listing. He was then suspended three games for shoving Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes in the locker room.
Embiid said that he did not miss the start of the year because of a setback with his knee.
“I had surgery in February or whenever that was, and I did come back early to fight for the team and to play, try to give us a chance,” he said on Nov. 1. “Unfortunately, we lost (to the Knicks in the playoffs). And then I had time to recover. I’ve really still been managing since the last surgery. Just managing and trying to figure out the best approach, but I feel pretty good.”
Embiid played a season-high 35 minutes Wednesday in a defeat to the Grizzlies, including the full third quarter, and had 35 points and 11 rebounds.
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“He had some swelling from the last game,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said postgame. “It’s kind of something we knew we were going to be dealing with going into the season. They do what they can do to remove that swelling, but just didn’t feel good enough to go.
“We were pretty well aware of that not too long after (the pregame) press conference, that he wasn’t going to be able to go tonight. … And then they obviously looked at it again during the game, at halftime or whatever, and decided they need to treat it this weekend. We’ll go from there.”
Paul George exited the Sixers' loss in Memphis with a left knee bone bruise and is also out through at least the Clippers game. Kyle Lowry has been sidelined because of a right hip strain, too.