Joel Embiid is finally back to the Philadelphia 76ers’ starting lineup and it is like he never left at all. Really, it doesn’t seem like the knee injury that kept him off the court for so long doesn’t seem to be bothering him at all. Au contraire, he is instead looking more robust than ever before. And as if to prove that, the man hosted an absolute block party in the first half of this game, getting an incredible 5 blocks in just the first half of this pivotal game 2 against Jayson Tatum and his franchise.
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All of Joel Embiid’s 5 blocks during the first half of this game were downright incredible, as you will see
Joel Embiid was locked in from the very first minute of this game. So, his first block came very early on in this game, with just about 3 minutes gone by in the first quarter. And given all his past beef with Marcus Smart from college, as per USA Today, this block coming against him had to have felt at least a little sweet. Take a look at Inside the NBA’s tweet below to watch the emphatic play.
Embiid rises up for the rejection! ⛔️ pic.twitter.com/XzQc6bicER
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 4, 2023
Apparently, this set the tone for the 76ers star, because in the next 13 minutes, as per SportsRadio 94WIP, he decided to get a whopping 4 more blocks. And during halftime, proud as a papa, the MVP’s franchise’s social media team decided to put out a compilation of all the different blocks he had put up. And admittedly, all of them are beyond impressive. Watch the clip in the tweet by the Philadelphia 76ers below.
for your halftime viewing pleasure: all 5 of @JoelEmbiid‘s blocks. pic.twitter.com/jdTmPatpdl
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 4, 2023
As per CBS Sports, Joel Embiid had an LCL sprain, something that can heavily limit an athlete’s movement for a long time even after they come back. So, we couldn’t be happier to see the MVP already back to his dominant self so soon after the injury.
However, even with that said, this one isn’t going to be easy. The Boston Celtics have been trading haymakers with each other throughout this entire contest. In other words, despite all of Embiid’s brilliance, winning this game will be no walk in the park.