The Philadelphia 76ers will be without star center Joel Embiid for Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night after the team ruled him out with a sprained right ankle and soreness in his right hip.
Joel Embiid injury update
Philadelphia had initially listed Embiid as probable because of the ankle injury, but later added the hip issue before officially downgrading him to out roughly six hours before tipoff.
The injury update comes after a difficult outing in Game 1, where the Knicks dominated the 76ers 137-98. Embiid finished with 14 points while shooting just 3-of-11 from the field in 25 minutes before the starters were pulled during the blowout loss.
The 2023 MVP had only recently returned from an appendectomy suffered late in the regular season. He came back during Game 4 of Philadelphia’s first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics and helped the 76ers rally from a 3-1 deficit to advance. Through five postseason appearances, Embiid has averaged 25.2 points per game.
Questions remain about whether the current hip soreness is connected to the earlier surgery. During Game 1, Embiid appeared to be in pain after colliding with Knicks guard Mikal Bridges on a screen in the first half. Cameras showed him grabbing his abdomen following the contact.
After the game, Embiid addressed the incident and suggested he may need to be more cautious physically moving forward.
“Obviously based on what’s been going on I guess I’ve got to protect it more,” Embiid said. “I don’t know if it was dirty or not, so I guess I’ve got to do a better job of protecting, especially that part.”
Focus on Tyrese Maxey
Without Embiid, the spotlight now shifts heavily onto Tyrese Maxey as Philadelphia attempts to avoid falling into a 2-0 series hole. Maxey also struggled in the opener, scoring 13 points on 3-of-9 shooting after averaging 26.9 points during the first round.
Embiid’s absence also creates a major matchup advantage for Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns in the paint as New York looks to continue its strong start to the series.
The 76ers, however, have spent much of the past several seasons navigating stretches without Embiid because of injuries, making this another familiar challenge for the franchise.
