Philadelphia 76ers will take a chance on Joel Embiid and will not sit him despite his knee scare in Game 1 of the playoffs against New York Knicks

Monday, 22 April 2024 at 22:15

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The start of the NBA Playoffs 2024 has not been ideal for the Philadelphia 76ers, as the Pennsylvania franchise fell in Game 1 of its first-round series against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. In addition, the Nick Nurse-led team suffered an early scare with Joel Embiid leaving before halftime with his knee, though he eventually returned to the game.

Embiid landed awkwardly after a dunk and fell to the floor, while clutching his left knee, which set off all the alarms considering he missed both February and March with a knee injury. He eventually limped off to the locker room, although he was able to play again.

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The Knicks' win forces the Sixers to turn the playoffs around if they want to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. This, without Joel Embiid, would be virtually impossible. That's why Nick Nurse himself was asked after the game what the plans were for his star player, whom he immediately ruled out benching as long as there is no other option.

"I don't think so", Nurse said to the question of whether Philadelphia 76ers plans to terminate Joel Embiid's season in the event his knee injury flares up in the upcoming series against New York. The coach said Embiid wants to play and do so despite whatever problems he has with his left knee.

We'll have to see what kind of form Joel Embiid is in going into Game 2 of the series that will be played again at Madison Square Garden with fans likely to see the New York Knicks take a 2-0 lead, or the Philadelphia 76ers win the game and steal home-court advantage to tie it 1-1 and send the series to the Wells Fargo Center.