Joel Embiid was a late scratch earlier than Saturday’s nationally televised matchup with the Denver Nuggets as a result of knee soreness, stopping a sold-out crowd at Ball Enviornment from seeing the Philadelphia 76ers star face Nikola Jokić in a battle of facilities who’ve gained the previous three MVP awards.
The 76ers had already dominated out starters Tyrese Maxey (ankle), Tobias Harris (sickness) and De’Anthony Melton (again), however Embiid was not on the harm report forward of Saturday’s sport. It wasn’t till starters had been introduced lower than half an hour earlier than the sport that Embiid was dominated out. Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse mentioned Embiid “did exit to do his common warmup and the (medical) crew simply didn’t like what they noticed. They simply determined it was a lot safer for him to not play at present.”
The information that Embiid would sit out got here to the dismay of followers at Ball Enviornment, who had been anticipating to see the star heart match up with Jokić in Denver for the primary time since 2019. The group broke out a thundering “The place’s Embiid At?” chant minutes into the sport, which the Nuggets led at halftime, 64-62.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone mentioned he anticipated the league to look into Embiid’s absence given the late timing of the middle being scratched.
“I don’t understand how you go from being lively, to out,” Malone mentioned. “I’m positive the league will do their due diligence. As a result of that’s frowned upon.”
Malone harassed that he didn’t query Embiid’s harm. His competition was with the timing of the introduced determination to make him inactive, minutes earlier than tip-off.
“He damage his knee in Indiana (on Thursday), so I’m positive he’s damage,” Malone mentioned. “It’s simply actually powerful when a crew like us is getting ready for (a participant), after which final minute he’s out. However we now have to do a greater job of dealing with these”
The 76ers maintain a 6-2 edge throughout video games during which Jokić and Embiid each play, however solely two of these video games have are available Denver. The final assembly between the 2 gamers got here lower than two weeks in the past in Philadelphia, when the 76ers held on for a 126-121 victory behind 41 factors from Embiid. Jokić had 25 factors and 19 rebounds within the shedding effort.
Embiid embraced Jokić with a hug after the that sport and informed Denver’s heart, who lifted the Nuggets to their first NBA title in June, that he’s “the perfect participant on the earth.”
“It’s humorous as a result of (on) Twitter, they’ve a conflict occurring between Philly followers and Denver followers,” Embiid informed reporters postgame of the perceived rivalry between he and Jokić. “And it’s humorous as a result of each of us are identical to, ‘Who cares?’ We simply wish to play basketball and win some video games. However he deserves (the title of greatest within the NBA). Till you knock him down, that’s the perfect within the league, and he’s the Finals MVP. So till another person takes that away, then you possibly can declare that.”
The absence for Embiid on Saturday may have significance because it pertains to his pursuit of a second straight MVP award, which he gained after Jokić claimed the award in 2021 and 2022. The NBA, beneath new pointers instituted this season, requires gamers to take part in a minimum of 65 video games to be eligible for postseason awards. Embiid has missed 11 of Philadelphia’s 44 video games, that means he can solely miss six of the remaining 38 and nonetheless attain the 65-game threshold.
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(Photograph: Dustin Satloff / Getty Photographs)
