76ers' Doc Rivers: 'It May Take a Minute' for Joel Embiid to Return from Knee Injury

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers seemed to suggest Saturday that superstar center Joel Embiid could miss more than one game with a knee sprain.

According to Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News, Rivers said he is unsure when Embiid will be back and added that "it may take a minute" for Embiid to get back on the court.

Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice reported that Rivers said he is "not sure" if Embiid will be back at some point during the Sixers' first-round playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets.

The 76ers are up 3-0 in the series, and they announced that Embiid will not play in Saturday's Game 4 because of a knee sprain.

Per Derek Bodner of The Daily Six, Rivers said the following about the nature of Embiid's injury: "They checked [Embiid's] knee out right after [Game 3] because 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 did the MRI. I hate that word [MRI]."

In the Sixers' 102-97 win over the Nets in Game 3 on Thursday, Embiid was engaged in a physical battle with Brooklyn center Nic Claxton throughout the contest.

The NBA scoring champion and MVP candidate had a down game by his standards, finishing with just 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting in the victory.

While the exact severity of Embiid's injury isn't yet clear, the 76ers can afford to take a cautious approach because of their commanding lead in the series.

The Sixers' ideal scenario would be to close things out in Game 4 to afford Embiid some extra time to rest before the second round. Philadelphia does have some margin for error, though, so losing a game or two to extend the first-round series is something it can afford.

Philly has lost in the second round of the playoffs or earlier in five straight seasons, and getting further than that this season won't be easy with or without Embiid.

Assuming all of the favorites win in the first round, the Sixers are lined up to face the second-seeded Boston Celtics, who represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals last season.

The 76ers need Embiid to be available and as healthy as possible to have a fighting chance against Boston, which is likely why the organization is taking things slowly with him currently.

Embiid averaged a career-high 33.1 points per game during the regular season to go along with 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals, making him one of the most complete players in the NBA.

Injuries have limited Embiid throughout his career, though, as he has never appeared in more than 68 games in a single season and has reached the 60-game mark only four times in nine years.

The Sixers have a deep and talented team led by James Harden, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris, which is capable of eliminating the Nets without Embiid, but Embiid will undoubtedly be needed to get any further than that.