It would be detrimental to the Chicago Bulls hopes of getting a big win over the Philadelphia 76ers on March 6 if Joel Embiid returns from his knee injury.
One of the more high-profile injuries of late in the NBA didn’t come from a member of the Chicago Bulls. Although the Bulls remained as one of the more injured teams in the Eastern Conference over the past two weeks, the most high-profile injury had to come from the Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid.
Thanks to a knee injury that Joel Embiid said was “progressively getting worse” as he continued to play on it, the Sixers had to sit him down for a few games.
On the other hand, Joel Embiid did state that he “expects to be back soon” prior to his team’s matchup with the Golden State Warriors on March 2.
That crucial matchup against superstar forward Kevin Durant and the Warriors saw a Joel Embiid-less Philly squad fall short by the final score of 120-117. That showed how important Embiid can be to the Sixers playoff push this season.
Joel Embiid expects to return from his self-imposed injury absence 'by next week' https://t.co/8H2T8TrB5W pic.twitter.com/N9wXBLBF00
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) March 3, 2019
The Sixers have to be hoping that a Joel Embiid return to the starting five is lined up at least by its March 6 showdown against the Bulls at the United Center in Chicago, IL. Embiid’s squad does have one game before it travels to the Windy City to face the Bulls on March 6. That is in the first leg of a back-to-back set of games that comes against the Orlando Magic.
However, the Sixers won’t be the only team in that matchup against the Bulls that dealt with some heavy injury trouble of late. The Bulls had some looming injury issues with key starters like point guard Kris Dunn and small forward Otto Porter Jr. the past few games. Not to mention the thumb injury to rookie standout center Wendell Carter Jr.
Fellow Sixers forward Amir Johnson could also be seeking out a March 5 or 6 return either against the Magic or Bulls. Johnson is day-to-day right now due to a lingering back injury. The last of the noteworthy injuries for the Sixers in this showdown against the Bulls is the bone bruise that forward Boban Marjanovic is dealing with.
What Joel Embiid would be bringing back for the Sixers is the team’s leading scorer who’s averaging 27.3 points per game, 13.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. He also carries a player efficiency rating above 25.
Before this knee injury, Embiid was an All-Star selection that was among the best big men in the NBA. He still has a very promising future, but he already has a lengthy injury history dating back to his college days with the Kansas Jayhawks. This is surely something to follow for all NBA fans.