The Philadelphia 76ers banked their second straight win with a 125-114 victory over the Trae Young-less Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, but it might prove costly. Star center Joel Embiid appeared to suffer a knee injury late in the fourth quarter, although he stayed in the game and helped close the door on Atlanta.
“There was a scary moment for the big guy late in this game, with Embiid driving the lane before collapsing and immediately grabbing at his knee, in clear pain as he tried to walk it off for the next minute or two,” PHLY Sports’ Kyle Neubeck wrote. “Embiid never came out of the game, but he was clearly bothered by it for at least a couple of minutes, hop-walking and trying to avoid full pressure on it until he eventually got settled.”
After the game, head coach Nick Nurse told reporters that he was concerned about Embiid’s knee and had already talked to the team’s vice president of athlete care about it. They plan to monitor Embiid’s knee overnight and over the next few days, according to Nurse, before deciding on his playing status moving forward.
The good news is that if Embiid does miss time, there might not be a better spot in the schedule to do so.
The Sixers don’t play again until Monday, Dec. 11, when they host the 3-18 Washington Wizards at home. After that, they have a home-and-home with the 2-20 Detroit Pistons—who are riding a 19-game losing streak and counting—followed by a road game against the 7-13 Charlotte Hornets and a home game against the 8-14 Chicago Bulls. There isn’t a playoff team among that bunch.
They do host the 16-4 Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, Dec. 20, but that’s nearly two weeks away. Even if Embiid sits out until that Timberwolves game (if not longer), the Sixers could likely stay afloat given the quality of their opponents over that stretch.
These games could also be a low-stakes way to experiment with their plan for if/when Embiid misses time later in the year. With the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline less than two months away, they need to know whether they have the right personnel around Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
In the three games that Embiid has missed thus far this season, Nurse started Marcus Morris in his place and left Paul Reed coming off the bench behind him. (Both Morris and Reed started against the Boston Celtics because Embiid, Maxey and Nicolas Batum were all out.) The 6’8″, 218-pound Morris doesn’t offer the rebounding or rim protection that the Sixers need at that spot, though.
Reed held his own in place of Embiid during last year’s playoffs, and Nurse spent the offseason talking him up. Nurse might be keeping Reed with the backups to help that unit develop chemistry early in the season, but that plan also might not be sustainable if Embiid does miss time.
Mo Bamba is the wild card in the frontcourt mix. He appears to have earned a longer look from Nurse after his 11-point, six-rebound outing against the Celtics on Dec. 1. On Friday, Nurse went with Bamba as his backup center at the start of the fourth quarter instead of Reed, which he justified after the game by saying the Sixers were far too lenient defensively during Reed’s minutes in the first half.
Bamba at least has more size, rebounding ability and shot-blocking ability than Morris. He’s also capable of knocking down occasional three-pointers, as evidenced by his 2-of-4 night from deep against Boston. But more often than not, his role will be what he had Friday: three rebounds, one shot attempt and zero points in five minutes of play.
The Sixers may be trying to feature Morris ahead of the trade deadline, since his $17.1 million expiring contract is the best salary filler they have on their books. Nicolas Batum ($11.7 million) has quickly carved out a valuable role in the rotation, so they might not be inclined to trade him unless it’s for a star.
Robert Covington ($11.7 million) is the Sixers’ other eight-figure expiring contract, and his role in the rotation appears to be in flux. After playing 30 minutes in back-to-back games against the New Orleans Pelicans and Celtics, he played four minutes against the Wizards on Wednesday and didn’t see the floor Friday against the Hawks.
It’s unclear what (if anything) Covington did to merit his slide down the rotation. He had 18 points, five rebounds and five steals against the Celtics, and his typical brand of off-ball havoc-wreaking on defense has carried right back over to Philadelphia. He’s once again among the league’s leaders in deflections despite playing only 17.1 minutes per game since coming to the Sixers.
If Embiid misses time, Covington might have a chance to reestablish himself as a clear rotation player moving forward. That could also help the Sixers determine whether to keep him past the trade deadline or move him before then. If he falls out of the rotation again, it might signal their intention with him either way.
The Sixers’ schedule toughens up after Christmas, so they can only hope that Embiid doesn’t miss much (if any) time. They’re well-equipped to survive a short-term absence from him, and it could even help them answer some critical questions that they need decided before the trade deadline.
No one is going to single-handedly replace Embiid’s impact. He came into Friday averaging a league-leading 33.1 points on 51.1% shooting, 11.4 rebounds, a career-high 6.6 assists and 1.8 blocks per game, and he had 38 points and 14 rebounds against Atlanta despite injuring his knee late. The Sixers would be lucky to get that level of production out of Morris, Reed, Bamba and Covington combined, much less from one of them single-handedly.
It’s still critical to figure out which of them are the Sixers’ best options when Embiid misses time. They might have a golden opportunity to do so over the next few games.
