Another week, another player that is missing the remainder of the season for the Philadelphia 76ers. Just last week they got the bad news that their highly touted rookie, Ben Simmons will miss not make his debut this season due to complications with his foot injury suffered in September. The news wasn't any brighter Wednesday, as the 76ers announced the emerging center Joel Embiid would miss the rest of the season with a torn meniscus that was more severe than they expected.
Injuries keep piling
The Sixers can't catch a break with injuries. Just as things were looking up for their franchise, they get bitten by the injury bug once again.
Joel Embiid has an injury history already in his third year in the league. Embiid missed his first two seasons when he was battling a foot injury. The good thing is that it's not the foot again. It's the knee, but that doesn't make it any better. Knees have been a victim to injuries over the years, just ask Kevin Durant who is missing time with a grade 2 MCL sprain.
Embiid has been dealing with this injury for a little over a month now, and the swelling has been in flux over that time. A follow-up MRI revealed that the knee injury was "more pronounced" than the team expected. Embiid admitted to the swelling after going through a full practice last week. The Sixers medical staff will take a cautious approach and look a the best option for Embiid's long-term health.
Embiid has been a force when he played, but he has only played in 31 games this season. The Sixers have been extra conscious with the star big man, never playing him more than 30 minutes. He has proved that he will be a future star averaging 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game this season. He is even shooting 37 percent from three-point range.
Embiid brought a liveliness to Philly a city that has been down in the dumps for years.
Update @YahooBDL: Joel Embiid’s meniscus tear is worse than the 76ers thought, and he’s now out for the the season: https://t.co/kB5FBom535 pic.twitter.com/HtxKrArjos
— Dan Devine (@YourManDevine) March 1, 2017
Sixers Sorrow
The Sixers are having a bunch of bad luck.
It gets to the point that you kind of feel bad for the struggling franchise. They haven't been relevant since the days of Andre Iguodala and Jrue Holiday when they beat the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs. The Sixers tout the phrase "trust the process, " but nowadays it gets pretty hard to do so. Philadelphia is now playing with no-name players, but they've been playing hard, getting wins in some games. But without that star power, Philadelphia will never come from the bottom of the east and be relevant again,
It's tough to hear about the news of Embiid, a star in the making. But in the NBA, injuries occur at any moment, and the Sixers keep catching the bad luck. Hopefully, both Simmons and Embiid can get healthy and come back next season ready to play.
