The star of the Philadelphia 76ers, the Cameroonian center Joel Embiid, retired Game 4 of the first-round playoff against the Washington Wizards with an injury to his right knee. The set occurred with 4 minutes and 38 seconds to go to the end of the first period, when He fell badly to the ground after receiving a clean plug from Robin López.
In the fall, in addition to the slap on the back, Embiid misplaced his right leg and injured his knee, forcing him to retreat to the locker room a little later when the Sixers’ medical team realized that the sensible thing to do was not to force the player’s physical condition.
“I have no idea”, answered Doc Rivers on Embiid’s situation facing the fifth game of the tie against Washington, who took advantage of the loss of the Cameroonian to win the fourth game 122-114 and avoid the sweep at the hands of Philadelphia.
The franchise will perform several diagnostic tests, including an MRI, on its star player to rule out serious injury. This Tuesday more will be known about Embiid’s physical condition.
Tobias Harris, the star’s teammate, wanted to take the issue down at the press conference after the match: “It’s not the end of the world”.
The reality, if a loss of more than one party is confirmed, is different. Embiid averages more than one point per minute in the first round tie and last night he managed to add 8 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in just 11 minutes on the track. Their averages in these playoffs were 29.3 points in 28 minutes of play after the first three games of the tie.
“We are going to need him if we want to be the last team standing, to win the championship”, valued veteran Danny Green, more sensible than Harris about the importance of the Cameroonian center. “That doesn’t mean we can’t win the next game without him.”clarified the shooter, who has won the last two NBA titles.