Despite the uncertainty surrounding Joel Embiid‘s return date and how effective he will be if and when he does, Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers voiced his confidence in the Sixers’ ability to manage without him.
“Just look at our record all year. Look at our record last year and the year before. Each year, we’ve gotten better when guys are injured,” Rivers told Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire. “The first year, the first half of that year, we struggled. I remember. Then we start winning a couple games when one of our key guys are out. Last year, we were better, this year, we’re way better. That’s what gives me confidence.”
The Sixers went 11-5 without Embiid this season. Rivers explained how the Sixers kept themselves afloat while Embiid was on the sidelines.
“I think, number one, accepting it. My first year here, I remember the first couple games Joel didn’t play, you walk in the locker room, and you look at our guys like ‘Oh my’—OK? He’s not playing today. That’s gonna happen. You gotta still play, and I thought we talked about that a lot our first year. We don’t talk about that anymore.
Secondly, we have better players. We added more guys. Even the guys who were here are better and the last thing is, we believe we can win games. Period. No matter who plays. I think that’s been our message all year and that may serve as well moving forward for a while.”
Shams Charania Gives Optimistic Update on Joel Embiid
NBA Insider Shams Charania of The Athletic provided a positive update on Embiid, revealing how optimistic the Sixers are that he’ll play in their next playoff game.
“There is optimism that he’ll be able to play in Game 1 of their next series against Boston, I assume, or Atlanta,” Charania said on FanDuel TV. “He had a sprained knee, and I think they believe this is about a one-week injury. Assuming the playoffs start this upcoming weekend, the hope is that Joel Embiid will be in the lineup. He went down a few times in that Nets Game 3, but thankfully, it wasn’t anything major.”
Shams gives a positive update on Joel Embiid saying the belief is that it is a one week injury
“There is optimism that he’ll be able to play in Game 1 of their next series”
The next time the Sixers will play a playoff game will either be on April 29 or May 1, depending on how the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks playoff series shapes up. If the Celtics end the series in Game 5, the Sixers’ next series will start on April 29. If it goes any other way, the series will start on May 1.
Joel Embiid Singles Out Jimmy Butler
After former Sixer Jimmy Butler put up 56 points to help the Miami Heat take a commanding 3-1 lead over the Milwaukee Bucks in their first-round series, Embiid singled out his former teammate for the performance he had.
“PLAYOFF MF HIMMY BUTLER,” Embiid said, via his personal Twitter.
PLAYOFF MF HIMMY BUTLER
The two former teammates could potentially face one another in the playoffs down the road, but for that to happen, both the Sixers and the Heat would have to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
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Docs Rivers Issues Strong Statement on Sixers After Joel Embiid Injury Update