The Sixers insist they did their due diligence throughout the year before handing Joel Embiid a three-year max extension in September, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link). Amid an ESPN report that the team and Embiid sought out a half-dozen medical opinions about his health prior to the extension, Neubeck details that a group of 5-7 doctors did extensive testing and evaluating of Embiid’s left knee during three periods — following his injury in January, before his return late in the regular season and again before the extension.
While there was a wide range of outcomes based on those evaluations, the opinions were generally optimistic that his knee issues were manageable. The staff and management was surprised when Embiid missed the opener and subsequent games while he continued to rehab and ramp up. The crux of the problem is that only Embiid knows how the knee feels on a daily basis and it has taken a mental toll on him.
Coach Nick Nurse said Embiid could suit up for Friday’s game against Orlando, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Embiid has only appeared in four games.
We have more on the Sixers:
- Nurse and the team were upset about two no-calls in the late stages of their four-point loss to Orlando on Wednesday. One of those could have sent Tyrese Maxey to the foul line with a chance to tie after he missed a 3-point attempt. “That’s what the video showed — it should have been three free throws. It would have been a great play, right?” Nurse told Pompey and other media members.
- Paul George, who is managing his own knee issues, sat out the tail end of a back-to-back after posting 29 points and eight assists in a win over Charlotte on Tuesday. George is expecting to play on Friday and his improved health and production is a source of optimism for the club, Pompey writes. “He had the ball a lot and, he made some late. I think he gives our guys confidence, especially Tyrese, to have somebody else that he can go back and forth with a little bit. I think that gives us a lot of confidence,” Nurse said.
- Guerschon Yabusele hadn’t been in the league since the 2018/19 season until Philadelphia signed him as a free agent during the offseason. Kelly Oubre Jr. said it was immediately apparent that NBA teams made a mistake by not bringing him back from Europe sooner. “From Day 1 when we got together as a team, I noticed that there’s no way he should have been out of the league,” Oubre told Pompey. “But at the end of the day, he’s back and he’s taken full advantage of his opportunity, and he’ll be here for a long time.”
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