After delivering a herculean effort on the highway to bounce the Boston Celtics and full the franchise’s first-ever 3-1 playoff comeback, Joel Embiid implored Philadelphia 76ers followers to not promote their Jap Convention semifinals tickets.
The Sixers’ standout large man didn’t desire a repeat of their first-round playoff collection versus the New York Knicks two seasons in the past, through which the Knicks superior in six video games whereas Philadelphia’s then-Wells Fargo Middle turned an extension of New York’s Madison Sq. Backyard.
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No matter what sort of home-court benefit the Sixers have at what’s now Xfinity Cellular Area on Friday evening, Embiid may not have the ability to play in entrance of the gang in attendance, as he’s formally “questionable” for Recreation 3.
Embiid continues to be listed with hip and ankle accidents, which stored him out of a gut-wrenching Recreation 2 defeat in New York that concluded a back-and-forth affair in MSG. The Sixers now path the Knicks 2-0 within the collection.
Extra particularly, the often-injured seven-time All-Star is dealing with a right ankle sprain and right hip soreness, per the Sixers’ preliminary Recreation 3 harm report, which was revealed Thursday.
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Notably, Knicks ahead OG Anunoby can also be thought-about questionable. He’s nursing a hamstring pressure in his proper leg. Anunoby, one of many hottest shooters on this 12 months’s postseason, sustained the harm within the fourth quarter of Recreation 2.
Knicks wing Josh Hart is questionable, too. He’s listed with a left thumb sprain.
As for Embiid, the 32-year-old one-time NBA MVP returned from an emergency appendectomy to assist the Sixers stage their historic turnaround towards the rival Celtics.
Two weeks and alter after Embiid’s late-season operation, he made his first look within the Celtics collection. Appendicitis was the newest situation he’s handled in a season, and a profession, stuffed with setbacks.
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Embiid appeared in fewer than 40 regular-season video games for the third marketing campaign in a row. He missed 13 video games with an indirect pressure in March. Embiid additionally missed 5 consecutive video games in February with a sore proper knee and shin situation.
After enjoying in simply 19 video games final season due to lingering left-knee points that in the end resulted in him going below the knife in April 2025, Embiid discovered himself sidelined once more for a major stretch early this season, that point on account of a proper knee harm.
He took a beating within the Celtics collection, notably in Recreation 7 throughout his 34-point, 12-rebound closeout efficiency in TD Backyard.
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Embiid got here into Recreation 1 of the Knicks collection with a proper hip contusion. He performed, however, like the remainder of the Sixers’ starters, sat down the stretch of a blowout loss. Going into Recreation 2, he was “possible” with a proper ankle sprain designation, besides he was dominated out hours earlier than tip-off, with proper hip soreness being added to his itemizing, as reported by PhillyVoice.
Main as much as Recreation 2, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse stated Embiid’s standing may be characterised as “day-to-day.”