The Sixers maintain vagueness around the situation of Joel Embiid. Already, during the injury, the club never really communicated on the nature of the problem, contenting itself with mentioning “a procedure for treating a lesion of the lateral meniscus of the left knee”. It's probably a tear, but Philadelphia hasn't specified that.
And the vagueness persists because if the reigning MVP intends to return this season, no return date has been set.
In the best case scenario, he would have been out for six to eight weeks, but it has now been more than six weeks since he had surgery and Ramona Shelburne explained a few days ago that he is still far from being able to return to the field. According to the ESPN journalist, the Sixers hope to find Joel Embiid for the last week of the regular season, in mid-April. In a little less than a month, so…
“I think there are always stages in the evolution of these things”, explained Nick Nurse after the victory against Charlotte. “Everyone wants to know how long this is going to last. And that's why doctors give a wide range, because everyone heals differently. We're just trying to take things as they come, make sure he's healthy and comes back when he's ready. »
The coach still ensures that the club's medical staff “is satisfied with the progress” made by Joel Embiid in recent weeks. But he doesn't come forward when asked if he will return to the regular season.
“I still hope so and I'm quite confident, yes”, he replies, while Philadelphia has slipped in the rankings since the start of the problems of its “franchise player”. The Sixers have only won 8 of their last 25 games, and are only 7th in the East (37 wins – 30 losses), i.e. in the “play-in” zone.
| Joel Embiid | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2016-17 | PHL | 31 | 25 | 46.6 | 36.7 | 78.3 | 2.0 | 5.9 | 7.8 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 20.2 |
| 2017-18 | PHL | 63 | 30 | 48.3 | 30.8 | 76.9 | 2.3 | 8.7 | 11.0 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 3.7 | 1.8 | 22.9 |
| 2018-19 | PHL | 64 | 34 | 48.4 | 30.0 | 80.4 | 2.5 | 11.1 | 13.6 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 27.5 |
| 2019-20 | PHL | 51 | 30 | 47.7 | 33.1 | 80.7 | 2.8 | 8.9 | 11.6 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 23.0 |
| 2020-21 | PHL | 51 | 31 | 51.3 | 37.7 | 85.9 | 2.2 | 8.4 | 10.6 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 28.5 |
| 2021-22 | PHL | 68 | 34 | 49.9 | 37.1 | 81.4 | 2.2 | 9.6 | 11.7 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 30.6 |
| 2022-23 ★ | PHL | 66 | 35 | 54.8 | 33.0 | 85.7 | 1.7 | 8.4 | 10.2 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 33.1 |
| 2023-24 | PHL | 34 | 34 | 53.3 | 36.6 | 88.3 | 2.6 | 8.7 | 11.3 | 5.7 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 3.7 | 1.8 | 35.3 |
| Total | 428 | 32 | 50.4 | 33.9 | 82.5 | 2.3 | 8.9 | 11.2 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 27.9 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
