TORONTO — Joel Embiid has vowed to play.
So much so that the 76ers haven’t listed his right thumb injury on the NBA injury report for Saturday’s Game 4 of the first-round series against the Toronto Raptors.
But how will the injury impact him and the Sixers moving forward?
The Sixers head into the 2 p.m. matchup at Scotiabank Arena with a commanding three-games-to-none advantage in the best-of-seven series. Now more so than ever, they would benefit greatly by completing a series sweep on Saturday. That would enable the MVP candidate to rest up what The Athletic reported, that the Sixers are fearing Embiid has a ligament tear.
Ligament tears typically need surgery. If that is the case with Embiid, it would probably come after the Sixers have completed their playoff run. But for now, he’ll continue to play with a brace while battling through the pain.
No team in NBA history has come back to win a series after being down, 3-0. So the Sixers are heavily favored to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they’ll face the winner of the Miami Heat vs. Atlanta Hawks series.
The Heat took a two-games-to-none advantage into Friday night’s Game 3 matchup in Atlanta. The earliest the Eastern Conference semifinals would start is April 30.
“It’s very important [to win Saturday] so we can get rest,” Danny Green said. “Some guys have bumps and bruises. Joel has a couple himself. I know Matisse [Thybulle] had some, Georges [Niang]. We have a couple of guys with ailments.
“So the sooner that we can clinch [the better]. It’s the hardest game of the series.”
Embiid could opt to get an MRI in the near future to determine the severity of the injury. However, right now, he’s focussed on playing and completing the Sixers’ first postseason sweep since 1991.
Downplaying the injury, coach Doc Rivers said the brace was to prevent Embiid from hitting his arms or hands during practice.
But this isn’t the first time Embiid has dealt with an injury in an opening-round series.
Two have stood out the most, though.
He missed the final 10 games of the 2017-18 regular season and first two games of first-round series against the Heat after suffering a fractured orbital bone in his left eye. Upon his return, Embiid donned a protective mask on his face.
Last season, the Sixers had a commanding 3-0 lead over the Washington Wizards in their opening-round series. Game 4 was supposed to be nothing but a formality after the Sixers won the first three games by an average of 22.6 points. However, the series headed back to Philly after Embiid suffered a game-ending small lateral meniscus tear in the first quarter of the Sixers’ eventual 122-114 loss. The injury occurred when he took a hard fall on his backside after Robin Lopez blocked his driving layup with 4 minutes, 43 seconds left in the first quarter.
While falling to the court, Embiid hyperflexed his right knee. After getting up gingerly, he sat on the bench during a timeout and returned to the game.
He stretched out his back before resuming play. Embiid later felt soreness in his right knee. He was subbed out of the game with 36.5 seconds remaining in the quarter. Embiid then went to the locker room. Moments later, the team trainer and team doctor went to the locker room to attend to Embiid.
He spent the entire second quarter in the locker room while being evaluated. The team announced at halftime that he wouldn’t return.
The Sixers closed out that series in Game 5 without Embiid. He returned in time for their conference semifinal series against the Hawks and averaged 30.4 points and 12.7 rebounds.
So he’s shown an ability to play through pain.
However, completing the sweep on Saturday while staying intact is a major priority for the Sixers.
“You are watching all these series and one thing can happen,” Rivers said. “The guy, [Phoenix Sun All-Star guard] Devin Booker, goes down , you know? You cannot take any game for granted in the playoffs.”
Booker is sidelined indefinitely with a Grade 1 hamstring strain. The Suns are facing the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round. Meanwhile, Milwaukee Bucks star forward Khris Middleton (MCL sprain) will miss the remainder of the opening-round series against the Chicago Bulls.
Aside from keeping players out of harm’s way, the Sixers look to make improvement from Game 3.
They know they were fortunate to win after being outplayed by the Raptors.
Toronto played with pace and attempted 12 more shots than the Sixers. The Raptors also set the tone early by grabbing five of their nine offensive rebounds in the first half. And their defensive tenacity led to the Sixers committing 24 turnovers.
“So those are things we cannot allow,” Rivers said. “We didn’t allow it in the first two games. We did in Game 3.”
And Embiid is determined to be a part of the action.
Following Wednesday’s game, Embiid said he didn’t know exactly how the injury happened. He felt pain in his thumb during the game.
“I think I might have twisted it,” he said. “So we are going to see what’s going on [Thursday].”
The final question of the media availability to Embiid was did he think the thumb injury will keep him out of Game 4?
“No,” he said. “No chance. No.”
