Sixers Provide Devastating Update on Joel Embiid

The prospect of Joel Embiid having his playoff run cut short by injury the year he wins MVP would be a cruel twist of fate.

Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Despite Joel Embiid's absence, the Sixers earned a 96-88 win on Saturday, completing their first-round sweep of the Nets.

Tobias Harris led all scorers with 25 points; James Harden paired 17 points with a game-high 11 assists, and Tyrese Maxey registered 16 points.

But after the victory, head coach Doc Rivers provided a grim update on Philadelphia's star center, who missed the matchup due to a sprained right knee, as reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelbourne.

Doc Rivers said Joel Embiid's MRI "did not turn out well" after he had pain and swelling behind his knee:

"He was complaining about some soreness behind the knee, which is always a scary thing when it’s behind the knee. There was swelling already, which is way too early. So we… pic.twitter.com/OxmXOjK71n

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) April 22, 2023

"He was complaining about some soreness behind the knee, which is always a scary thing when it’s behind the knee," said Rivers. "There was swelling already, which is way too early. And so we did the MRI. As a coach, I hate that word; I hate those three letters because it never comes out well. It just feels like whenever they tell a coach, 'Hey, we’re going to get an MRI,' it doesn’t turn out well most of the time, and this one did not."

Per Tim Bontemps of ESPN, Rivers also conveyed that the chances of Embiid being ready for the Eastern Conference semifinals, which start next weekend, it's "probably 50 percent, at best."

The prospect of the former Kansas Jayhawk having his playoff run cut short by injury the year he wins MVP would be a cruel twist of fate.

Hopefully, for Embiid and the Sixers' sake, the swelling dissipates, and he's healthy enough to play in the next round, either when it begins or after missing as few games as possible.

From a Celtics perspective, while you have to beat some of the best players and teams along the way to win a championship in any sport, provided they advance past their first-round series with the Hawks, of course, facing a Philadelphia team missing Embiid for any amount of time would make it easier to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals.

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