Getty Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers
Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young helped the Atlanta Hawks stave off elimination when they beat the Boston Celtics 119-117 in Game 5 of their first-round series to send it back to Atlanta. Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid called out Young for his performance, referring to him by his nickname, “Ice Trae.”
“This is some good hoops!!!#IceTrae,” Embiid said, via his personal Twitter.
This is some good hoops!!!#IceTrae
Young’s performance also did the Sixers a favor. The Hawks’ Game 5 victory over the Celtics buys Embiid and the Sixers more time to rest. No matter what the outcome of the series is, their next series will officially start on May 1, which could give Embiid enough time to rest his sprained LCL, which he suffered in Game 3 against the Brooklyn Nets.
Should the Hawks win the series, they would face off against the Sixers in a rematch of the 2021 NBA Playoffs, though both teams have changed quite a bit since then.
Doc Rivers Expresses Confidence in Sixers
Despite the uncertainty surrounding Embiid’s health going forward, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers voiced his confidence in how the Sixers will perform 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.”
Rivers then singled out the Sixers’ ability to accept when players are injured as well as their improved depth for why they’ve been able to manage without Embiid.
“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 Reports Positive Update on Joel Embiid
NBA Insider Shams Charania of The Athletic gave a positive update on how the Sixers feel about Embiid going into Game 1 of their next series.
“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”