Joel Embiid Emphatically Announces Return From 13-Game Absence
97.5 The Fanatic Knockout was supposed to dominate the headlines. However, a pregame announcement stole the show when the Philadelphia 76ers took on the visiting Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. Joel…
97.5 The Fanatic Knockout was supposed to dominate the headlines. However, a pregame announcement stole the show when the Philadelphia 76ers took on the visiting Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
Joel Embiid comfortably executed his pregame workout, and the Sixers upgraded his questionable status just before tipoff in time for a return. He had sat the previous 13 games. Paul George also returned from a suspension against the Bulls, and Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. have also sat with injuries during Embiid's extended absence.
The much-maligned big man announced his presence for the final 10 games of the season with 35 points, six rebounds, and seven assists for a victorious Sixers team creeping upwards in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Big Return for Joel Embiid
Shortly after Matt Cord announced the starting lineup, the crowd at Xfinity Mobile Arena recognized the excellence Joel “The Process” Embiid shows when he’s rested and healthy. The former MVP stormed out of the gates with an early three-pointer. He bullied Chicago big man Nick Richards for a bucket in the paint on an ensuing possession.
Embiid stunningly dropped 15 points in the first 6:03 of the first quarter on 6-for-7 shooting. Billy Donovan burned a timeout, but there’s nothing the Bulls were going to accomplish with Embiid in rhythm.
The Cameroonian big man cruised to 23 points in just 16 minutes in the first half.
The Sixers exploded for a 51-point third quarter on their way to a 157-137 blowout victory. Embiid got things started out of the locker room by posterizing Matas Buzelis on a drive from the corner. He played all 12 minutes in the third quarter and sat out the fourth with the score out of reach.
George bounced back from a slow start to score 28. VJ Edgecombe also complemented the pair of returning stars with a 22-point night on 7-for-9 shooting.
Embiid finished 12-for-17 from the floor in 28 minutes. His ball-handling, mid-range shooting and long-range shooting, and physicality in the paint amazed a Philadelphia crowd that hadn’t seen their star player since February 26.
Nick Nurse didn’t share plans to limit Embiid’s minutes for the final 10 games of the regular season (including Wednesday). While the Sixers hope to keep him fresh for the postseason, they also hope to avoid the dramatic roulette feeling of the NBA Play-In Tournament just to clinch an actual playoff bid.
Embiid's seemingly constant entrances and exits from the lineup have led the Sixers into another roller coaster season. Nurse emphasized the need to develop an identity without Embiid on the floor during training camp, but the fate of the season once again lies on the shoulders of a player who's missed more games than he's played during his NBA career.
