When the Philadelphia 76ers play the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night, it’s impossible to predict if star player Joel Embiid will be on the court.
Due to left knee pain, Embiid was unable to play in Saturday’s 111-105 away loss to the Denver Nuggets. The fact that Embiid wasn’t on Philadelphia’s injury report infuriated Nuggets coach Michael Malone.
The 76ers have listed Embiid as questionable to play against the Trail Blazers, thus he is currently on the list. He scores 36 points per game, which puts him top in the NBA.
It appears that during Thursday’s 134-122 road loss against the Indiana Pacers, Embiid injured his knee. He had just defeated the San Antonio Spurs 133-123 at home with a career-high 70 points.
The fact that Embiid missed his lone season in Denver for the fourth time in a row contributed to some of the controversy surrounding the Nuggets.
With NBA MVP candidate Joel Embiid currently holding the title and Nuggets player Nikola Jokic having won it the previous two seasons, there is a noticeable pattern in Mile High City.
Nick Nurse, the coach of Philadelphia, stated that no conspiracies were involved in the decision made on Saturday. He claimed that Embiid’s appearance during pregame warmups was not to the trainers’ liking.
After the game on Saturday, Nurse stated, “He really wanted to play, and the medical team did not deem him fit to play today.” “I’m sorry for those fans. It’s terribly unfortunate.
Against Denver, Paul Reed made a strong Embiid impression by scoring a career-high 30 points on 14 of 21 shots. In addition, he recorded his eighth career double-double while grabbing 13 rebounds, one less than his career high.
With 25 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. also stood out on a day Tyrese Maxey (left ankle) and Tobias Harris (sickness) missed games as well. For Monday’s match, both players are rated as doubtful.
The 76ers are winless after five games on the road, which ends on Tuesday and Thursday with games against the Utah Jazz and the Golden State Warriors.
On October 29, Embiid played for the Philadelphia 76ers against Portland, and he finished with 35 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, and a season-high six blocked shots as the 76ers won 126-98 at home.
In the game, Shaedon Sharpe scored 20 points to lead Portland. Due to an abdominal injury, Sharpe will miss the game on Monday for the tenth time in a row.
The Trail Blazers lost 104-96 to the visiting Chicago Bulls on Sunday night, and they have now lost four of their last five games. Portland made a pitiful 6 out of 33 3-point attempts.
For Portland, Deandre Ayton recorded his 15th double-double of the year with 22 points and 12 rebounds in addition to 24 points from Jerami Grant. Over the last three games, Ayton is averaging 20 points on 27 of 42 shots (64.3 percent).
“Our goal has been to really try to get the ball to D.A.” stated Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. “He’s been performing incredibly well. He’s beginning to discover who he is. That truly makes me delighted to watch.”
For the first time this season, Ayton scored 20 points in back-to-back games against Chicago, making 9 of 12 attempts.
Regarding the team’s effort in Sunday’s defeat, Ayton declared, “We’re not going to stop competing, we’re going to compete to the end.”
Anfernee Simons only had 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting, down from his 40 points in Friday’s 116-100 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on the road. In five of the previous six games, he has attempted four or less free throws, and he has only attempted one.
“I think one improvement area for Ant is learning how to draw fouls,” Billups stated.