© Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Joel Embiid QUESTIONABLE Against Knicks in Game 2
The New York Knicks will wait on the final word about the 76ers' star.
How is the NBA MVP's MV-knee? Fortunately for the Philadelphia 76ers, it appears that they've averted a major medical disaster, at least for the time being. The New York Knicks will now wait to hear his status for Game 2.
Joel Embiid is currently listed as questionable on the injury report for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series between the 76ers and New York Knicks, which will be staged on Monday night at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG/TNT). New York leads the best-of-seven set 1-0 after a 111-104 victory on Saturday partly defined by Embiid's left knee injury that forced him to miss the final stages of the first half.
"Pretty good, I think,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said on Sunday when asked about the ailment, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “I asked him how he was feeling; he said pretty good.”
Apr 20, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) lays on the court
Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Embiid has truly put the "V" in MVP this season: Philadelphia is 32-9, including the postseason, when he takes the floor this season but they were 16-27 when he was forced to sit out. The Knicks are now one of two teams to beat the 76ers twice with Embiid in their lineup this season, the other being the Indiana Pacers.
While Embiid is undoubtedly the stirrer of the Sixers' drink, it's clear he's far from 100 percent. Embiid dominated the opening period of Saturday's game, scoring 15 points over the opening dozen. Most of his scoring from there on out, however, came at the foul line, as Embiid was only 2-of-11 from the field in the second half. He was fruitless on five attempts in the fourth thanks in part to stellar defense from Mitchell Robinson.
Nurse was nonetheless pleased with the way Embiid battled, even though Philadelphia lost the rebounding battle by a minus-22 margin, the second-worst margin this season when Embiid has taken the floor.
“Joel battled pretty good down there, trying to get his body on people to block out,” Nurse said in Lewis' report. “There’s some other things we can do that I can’t really tell you about that we can help him with. But I think he did a pretty decent job. I mean, decent; he needs to do better. But he was putting his body on them and moving them out quite a bit. So again, yes he needs to do better, but so do the other four guys out there.”
The Knicks' injury report is empty, with the obvious exeception of Julius Randle, who is out for the year with a shoulder injury.
