Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid is experiencing pain and discomfort in his right thumb, and the fear is that Embiid is dealing with torn ligaments, according to ESPN. Embiid played in Game 4 of Philadelphia’s first-round series against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday afternoon, which they lost 110-102. Afterward, Embiid said he’ll get an MRI on Sunday as the teams tries to determine the severity of the injury.
Doc Rivers says “there’s concern” about the injury.
“I think we already know what it is to be honest, but we just have to make sure,” Rivers said. “We feel like it’s not a great injury. I’m just going to leave it at that.”
Embiid scored 21 points in Game 4, but struggled (7 of 16) from the field. He says he should be able to play through the pain and discomfort throughout the postseason, and if thumb surgery is needed, Embiid says he’ll do it once the playoffs are over.
Rivers also added that the injury can’t get worse, which is a silver lining of sorts for Philadelphia. At this point in the season, it will likely be up to Embiid to play through some pain until the issue can be appropriately addressed over the offseason. Embiid has been stellar throughout the first round, and his Sixers are one win away from sweeping the Raptors out of the playoffs. He put Toronto on the brink with a 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left on the clock in overtime to give the 76ers the win in Game 3.
Embiid has a lengthy history of injuries in the postseason. Though he missed only one game last year, a knee injury limited him in the 2021 playoffs. He similarly struggled to stay on the floor during the 2019 postseason, and he obviously missed the first two seasons of his career due to injury. While Embiid is perhaps the best player in the NBA when healthy, durability has always been a major concern of his.
If the Sixers take care of business in Game 5 on Monday, Embiid would possibly have some time to rest before starting the second round, which will presumably come against the Miami Heat, though only lead the series against the Atlanta Hawks 2-1. The 76ers need Embiid to be close to 100 percent if they plan to seriously compete for the championship this season. James Harden and Tyrese Maxey have given him some scoring help, but ultimately their hopes rest on his broad shoulders.
