The club said Friday night that Joel Embiid, the Sixers’ MVP nominee, sustained a right orbital fracture. A minor concussion in Thursday’s series-clinching win against the Toronto Raptors. He will indefinitely be out of action, according to the club, and more information will give. The injury occurred when the Raptors’ Pascal Siakam inadvertently elbowed Embiid in the face on Thursday. It is a significant setback for the Sixers’ advancement past the top-seeded Miami Heat. The best-of-seven series gets underway in Miami on Monday night.
Embiid had previously been dealing with a torn ligament in his right thumb, which he sustained in Game 3 of the Raptors series.
He had 33 points, ten rebounds, and three blocks in the Sixers’ 132-97 triumph in Toronto on Thursday night. Embiid did not talk to the media during the Sixers’ postgame news conference taking after Thursday’s win. But he told NBATV in an interview, “I think [Siakam] broke my confront. I’m not joking. I believe Siakam fractures my nose, but everything is OK. It’s the postseason.”
The Sixers were off on Friday but will return to practice on Saturday to prepare for Game 1 of the Heat series.
Embiid has had the best healthiest season of his career before this series of postseason injuries. He appeared in a career-high 68 regular-season games, including 51 of 53 games between December 15 and April 9. Raptors during that time, he only missed a few games due to rest. Embiid became the first center in NBA history to lead the league in NBA.
Since Shaquille O’Neal in 2000 while also averaging 11.7 rebounds, a career-high 4.2 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game. He was one of three MVP contenders earlier this month, with Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks. Paul Reed, DeAndre Jordan, and Paul Millsap are the Sixers’ center possibilities without Embiid. Charles Bassey, a rookie, is also on the roster. Raptors Georges Niang, a stretch forward, might also be a small-ball alternative at that position. Bam Adebayo, a two-time NBA All-Defense second-team pick and an All-Star in 2020, is one of the finest two-way centers in the NBA.
Read more: Dallas Mavericks against Utah Jazz: Mavericks to win the series
One thought on “After sustaining a fracture in the Sixers’ Game 6 win over the Raptors, Joel Embiid will be out indefinitely”