'I Thought I Was Done,' Joel Embiid Talks Knee Injury, Reacts to 76ers Being Eliminated by Knicks

For the sixth time in his career, Joel Embiid's season ended in the second round of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

The New York Knicks absolutely hammered the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, 144-114, completing a dominant sweep of the Sixers.

Embiid was one of the few players for Philly who actually showed up, putting up 24 points, five rebounds and four assists. But he was a major liability on the defensive end and his three turnovers didn't help matters.

It may not have mattered anyway—the Knicks hit 25 threes and played superb team basketball (33 assists). But the Sixers provided minimal resistance.

After the contest, the superstar big man discussed the loss and the season:

For Embiid, it was the close of another difficult, injury-riddled season. He appeared in just 38 games during the regular season, with a late-season appendectomy costing him several weeks in April, including the first three games of the team's first-round series against the Boston Celtics.

"The things that I've been dealing with, they've all been related to the surgery. Coming back early, the core was weak, everything was affected. So you're looking at the hip, the adductor, everything is out of place," Embiid told reporters Sunday. "Jumping right to playoff basketball, that was tough. But I felt I still played as hard as I could."

But he was fantastic upon his return, averaging 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in that series as the Sixers erased a 3-1 deficit and upset the 2-seeded Celtics.

The magic didn't carry over against the Knicks, however, though the injury issues did, as Embiid missed Game 2 due to ankle and hip injuries.

The Sixers are left in an interesting position. The backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe is fantastic (and the sky appears to be the limit for the latter after a fantastic rookie season). But Embiid and Paul George are in their 30s, haven't been routinely available in the past two seasons, and each have such massive contracts they probably have negative value in trade discussions. For better or worse, this is the Sixers core for the next two seasons.

With a healthy Embiid, that wouldn't be a concern. But healthy and Embiid are two words that rarely find themselves paired together.