76ers Believe Joel Embiid Played Through Injuries Due to ‘All the Scrutiny,’ per Insider

Philadelphia’s reigning MVP is trying to push through but may have overdone it after heavy recent criticism.

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid returned to the floor on Tuesday to face the Golden State Warriors, attempting to push through lingering knee injuries in the process. And in the fourth quarter, the worst-case scenario struck, as Golden State’s Jonathan Kuminga fell on Embiid’s left knee, ultimately resulting in the 29-year-old needing to be helped to the locker room.

Embiid has been pushing through injuries all season and didn’t look like himself against the Warriors. But per a recent report, people within Philadelphia’s organization believe Embiid’s push to play through injuries stems from all the scrutiny he’s received, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick.

Per Amick:

Embiid, who missed Philadelphia’s game at Portland on Monday night, looked like a player who pushed himself to play against Golden State because the whole basketball world was screaming in his ear. There are people within the Sixers who are convinced that he played only because of all the scrutiny.

The report comes days after Embiid was scratched 15 minutes before tip against the Denver Nuggets, a situation that led to a league investigation. Even Denver coach Michael Malone admitted to being a bit baffled by the situation, as he told reporters after the game.

“I don’t know how you go from being active, available, to out. I’m sure the league will do their due diligence. Because that’s frowned upon.” Malone told reporters after the game. “And we’ve had situations this year where we’ve talked to the league, and they told us if a player goes from active to out, there’s going to be an investigation.”

“I’m sure that Joel—he hurt his knee in the Indiana game, I guess real. We watched the game … so I’m sure he’s hurt,” Malone also said.

Malone was as confused as every other fan anxiously awaiting the Embiid vs. Nikola Jokić matchup, but the result was immense negativity toward the 76ers star. To make matters worse, it’s not as if Embiid hasn’t battled injuries throughout his career. He’s played injured and been ruled out late previously, but the 76ers waited until the last minute to even add him to the injury report against the Nuggets, which is what fueled the speculation.

Now, we wait and see what the outlook is for Embiid, who’ll almost certainly still try to push through injuries and play—even in a late-January game before we’ve even made it to the All-Star break.