The Philadelphia 76ers seem to be in a soup. After going on a six-game winning streak, Nick Nurse’s team suffered three straight losses to begin their five-game road trip. Going up against the struggling Golden State Warriors, the Philly side has a great opportunity to snap their losing streak. With hopes to turn back to their winning ways, fans will look forward to Joel Embiid suiting up for the contest.
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The Cameroonian hooper has had a terrific run in the past week. After recording 34.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the two away games, the reigning MVP erupted for a 70-point historic outing during the win over the San Antonio Spurs. He then proceeded to knock lodge a 31-point performance against the Indiana Pacers.
During the loss against the Tyrese Haliburton-less Indiana Pacers, Embiid seemed to have aggravated his knee. However, he was not added to the team’s injury report ahead of the highly-anticipated clash against the Denver Nuggets. But, merely 15 minutes before tip-off, the team made an abrupt announcement that JoJo would be sidelined.
After missing out on the clash against Nikola Jokic and Co., Embiid also sat out for the Sixers’ next fixture against the Portland Trail Blazers. While the team hasn’t revealed any official statement regarding his availability for tonight’s contest against the Golden State Warriors, Nick Nurse’s comments implied that Embiid’s status was not clear.
“I don’t want to rule him out at all,” Nurse said. “So I guess we’ll just see how we’re doing.”
The Warriors are on a losing streak. However, both the games – the Kings and the Lakers – were extremely well-fought battles, with Steve Kerr’s boys losing by 1 point in each game. Hence, if Embiid were to miss the clash, the Bay Area side would be the favorites to win.
Joel Embiid is under investigation after sitting out against the Denver Nuggets
Before the 2023-24 season commenced, the league introduced its Player Participation Policy, making it difficult for players to take any days off citing “load management”. As per one of the rules of the Policy, every team in the franchise is expected to ensure that their star players are available for all national television broadcasts. With Joel Embiid abruptly sitting out of the ABC-televised game, the NBA is expected to investigate and fine the franchise for not following the mentioned rule.
Michael Malone, the head coach of the Denver Nuggets, was the first one to urge the league to investigate the matter. After his side secured a huge 111-105 victory, Malone went on a passionate rant.
“I don’t know how you go from being active, available to out,” Malone said. “I’m sure the league will do their due diligence because that’s frowned upon. We’ve had situations this year where we talked to the league. They told us if a player goes from active to out, there’s going to be an investigation.”
So far, Embiid is having an incredible season, worthy enough to be named the MVP. Apart from scoring the league’s best 36 points per game, the two-time scoring champ is also averaging 11.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. It’ll be a shame if the league finds out that the Sixers purposely held back Embiid from playing. If found guilty, the Sixers could be slapped with a hefty fine.
