76ers' Joel Embiid Out vs. Jazz, Will Receive Further Testing on Knee Injury
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid will miss Thursday's game against the Utah Jazz due to a knee injury, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Kenda Andrews of ESPN reported Tuesday the reigning NBA MVP was due to receive an MRI after a 119-107 defeat to the Golden State Warriors. Wojnarowski noted he "will receive further evaluation on his left knee in the next 24 hours."
Embiid had been dealing with soreness in his left knee that kept him out of back-to-back games against the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 27 and 29.
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The Nuggets game, in particular, raised eyebrows because Embiid wasn't listed on the injury report ahead of time. He was scratched shortly before tipoff because head coach Nick Nurse said the medical staff "didn't like what they saw" as he went through pregame warmups.
Embiid returned to the lineup against the Warriors. He had his worst performance of the season with 14 points on 5-of-18 shooting in 30 minutes. The six-time All-Star left the game late in the fourth quarter when Jonathan Kuminga inadvertently fell on his knee while the two players were fighting for a loose ball.
The Athletic's Sam Amick cited some people in the Sixers organization who believe the reason Embiid played against the Warriors is "because of all the scrutiny" that came in the wake of his absence vs. Denver.
Philadelphia has also been without Tyrese Maxey for the past three games due to a sprained left ankle. The team is 0-3 during this stretch, tied for its longest losing streak of the season.
Tuesday's loss against the Warriors snapped Embiid's streak of 22 consecutive games with at least 30 points.
Embiid has been the best version of himself as a player so far this season, and that includes his MVP campaign from 2022-23. He leads the NBA in scoring with 35.3 points per game and is averaging a career-high 5.7 assists per contest.
Paul Reed is a reliable backup center who will likely see more action for the time being to ease some of the burden on the frontcourt with Embiid unavailable.
