76ers' Joel Embiid Out vs. Jokić, Nuggets with Knee Injury; Maxey, Harris Also Out

Philadelphia 76ers superstar center Joel Embiid has been ruled out for Saturday's matchup against the Denver Nuggets with left knee soreness, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Sixers training staff "had concerns" about Embiid's knee while watching him during warmups and ultimately decided that he sit out the matchup with Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris having also been ruled out, Wojnarowski added.

Maxey is dealing with an ankle injury and Harris is sidelined with an illness.

Embiid, 29, has dealt with injury issues and load management for his entire career, and keeping him healthy through the postseason has been an issue at times in Philadelphia. That has partially contributed to the Sixers never advancing past the second round of the playoffs during his career.

When healthy, however, he's emerged as one of the top two-way players in the NBA, culminating in the MVP award in the 2022-23 season. He may be on his way to another one, averaging 36.0 points, 11.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.8 blocks while shooting 53.9 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from three.

However, Embiid has to play at least 65 games to be eligible for the MVP honor, a rule instituted this season for all of the NBA's major awards.

Embiid doesn't have many weaknesses on the floor. He's a monster in the post and often requires double teams to keep in check, but also can space the floor as a shooter. He's Philly's best defensive player as well, protecting the rim with the athleticism to cover smaller players on the perimeter when teams hunt switches and potential mismatches.

His main weakness has been availability, namely early in his career. He's never played more than 68 games in a season and missed the entirety of his first two seasons with a navicular bone fracture, while a torn meniscus limited him to just 31 games in his rookie campaign.

Since then he's played at least 50 games in every season. But his injury issues mean that any time missed causes more than a little angst in Philadelphia.

His last injury cost him a Christmas day matchup against the Miami Heat due to a sprained ankle, though it's unlikely his latest ailment will sideline him long.

If he's forced to miss time, the Sixers could start Paul Reed at center or choose to go small, utilizing a player like Marcus Morris as a small-ball center.