Embiid intended to play vs. Nuggets, knee-swelling made him unable to jump

Joel Embiid was planning on playing in Saturday’s game in Denver, but his knee had swelled up so much that it made it difficult to jump, per Ramona Shelburne. According to Shelburne, this swelling will be an issue that Embiid will have to manage for the rest of the season.

Most fans were disappointed to not see the Nikola Jokic vs. Embiid matchup everybody wanted to see, but if it were up to Embiid, he would have played.

“Joel Embiid said ‘I’m playing, don’t even put me on the injury report,’ but that knee is an issue that he’s going to have to manage for the rest of the season. And there’s swelling in there, he couldn’t even jump before the Denver game.” Shelburne said on NBA Today.

Embiid will now also miss tonight’s game against the Trail Blazers. If Joel doesn’t play in at least 32 of the Sixers’ final 37 games, he will be ineligible for any awards, including MVP. So, if he misses five more games he’s out. This would be a huge blow to his legacy, but if it ends up in a Philadelphia championship, it might not be so bad.

Embiid said earlier this season he cares more about a playoff run than his own personal accolades. Him taking games off to be healthy for the playoffs is a true sign of that.