BOSTON — Joel Embiid wasn’t exactly in MVP form in the 76ers’ loss to the Celtics on Wednesday night.
The 29-year-old finished his night at TD Garden with just 15 points and three rebounds while turning the ball over three times and putting up a minus-23 in the box score. It was a far cry from what you would expect from the man who was named NBA MVP just 24 hours prior.
Or was it?
Embiid entered Wednesday night’s matchup far from 100%. He not only missed the 76ers’ previous two games, but was knocked out of a Game 3 win over the Brooklyn Nets pretty early with what has been described as a right knee sprain. The big man has a long history of ailments to the lower body, including a string of foot injuries that kept him from making much of an impact across his first two seasons in the league.
So, despite the poor performance (five blocks aside) that has people wondering whether he returned too soon, Embiid plans to keep going.
“Honestly, the biggest thing about it is mobility and swelling,” Embiid said postgame. “You just gotta cross your fingers and hope that it doesn’t (swell). You do treatment around the clock and make sure it’s as cold as possible.
“I think I should be fine. I’ve been through a lot, last year with the broken face and the concern that I could lose my vision if I got hit. So I’m going to keep playing through anything. We’ve got a big chance, and I’ve got to take advantage of it and I make sure I always do.”
Though he clearly isn’t at full health, you can almost count on Embiid taking the floor for the remainder of this series. The only question is, does that benefit the 76ers or the Celtics?
