The Philadelphia 76ers might see their star player return to the floor fairly soon. What was one of the top teams in the East, quickly went downhill when Joel Embiid sustained a seemingly season-ending injury back in January. And now, rumors have it that Embiid may be returning from his knee injury quite a bit sooner than anyone would have thought, leading a certain 76ers analyst to believe that the seven-footer might be forcing himself ahead of the upcoming Olympics.
Advertisement
Joel Embiid sustained a tear in the lateral meniscus of his left knee that has kept him out of the team’s lineup for the past two months. The Sixers superstar was last seen on the floor playing against the Golden State Warriors on January 30th.
Independent reports initially stated that Embiid is set to miss out on three to six months due to his injury. However, 76ers beat writer Keith Pompey believes that Embiid might be rushing his return due to the upcoming Olympics.
Pompey made an appearance on Sirius XM Radio recently, claiming that Joel Embiid might return to the 76ers lineup sometime this upcoming week.
“Of course, if you ask him, or you ask the people around, like, ‘Nah, nah, he wants to help the team.’ Then there may be someone in the fanbase who says, ‘What’re you doing? Like, what about the team? Like, what about us? Like, you don’t wanna play in the playoffs but you’ll come back for the Olympics.’ You know, I always felt that but I also felt that it would be one of those things that the 76ers were like, out of it.”
“Completely out of it the way they are, trending downwards that the team would say, ‘Nah, just sit him out.’ But from what I hear, he wants to come back. But to me, it crossed my mind…If this wasn’t an Olympic year and the Sixers were playing the way they were, would he just shut it down? And some people are saying that might be the smart thing to do.”
Keith Pompey believes if this wasn’t an Olympic year and the Philadelphia 76ers were playing the way they are, Embiid and his training staff would’ve shut him down for the remainder of the season for his health and the betterment of the team in the long run. Instead, Pompey’s take is that Joel Embiid is rushing back from his injury because he wants to be part of the USA Olympics basketball team instead of helping the struggling Sixers squad out ahead of the playoffs.
Now one main concern with his early return might be the harm and damage it might cost the 76ers franchise in the longer run if his injury does end up being aggravated. And if it does, what will the outlook for the franchise be for the upcoming years in the NBA? Really, the biggest question here is, ‘Is playing in the Olympics worth risking the Philadelphia 76ers?’.
Of course, this is only under the assumption that Embiid really does only want to play in the Olympics. There is a real possibility that the star center really is back to being somewhat healthy already.
Would Joel Embiid be in the right for making an early comeback?
The Philadelphia 76ers were one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference up until the injury to their star player. After Joel Embiid’s injury at the end of January, the 76ers dropped from being one of the top teams in the East to being the eighth seed, as they are now.
Since Embiid’s absence, the 76ers have struggled to win games, resulting in numerous losing streaks throughout February and March. Due to this, Embiid’s health, in particular, has been a concerning factor for fans and the 76ers franchise. The seven-footer has often been sidelined for long durations due to some injury or the other, something that has ultimately resulted in his team often struggling during long stretches of the season.
And if that weren’t enough, his lack of consistency in the playoffs has been another concerning factor with him over the years. Yet, despite all these concerns in mind, the star is making positive headway at the moment. Recently, he was even seen participating in contact drills along with the rest of his Philadelphia 76ers teammates, as seen in NBA Central’s X[Formerly Twitter] post.
Given that the 76ers are in the eighth spot in the league with a 40-35 record, fans will hope that Joel Embiid’s return can give the team a much-needed jolt ahead of the postseason.
