2 min read • January 31, 2024
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By video, did not appear to suffer serious left knee injury - may miss a few games due to swelling but MRI will be clean with no structural damage - suffered hyperextension when he had left knee landed on by Jonathan Kuminga diving for a loose ball in the closing minutes against the Warriors on Jan. 31.
The injury is to the same knee that caused Embiid to miss the previous two games, but head coach Nick Nurse told reporters postgame that the injury was “unrelated” to his previous knee issues.
Based on video, our panel of docs agree that this injury mechanism is unrelated to the chronic soreness and swelling that caused him to miss Jan. 27 in Denver and Jan. 29 in Portland before returning for Tuesday night’s tilt against the Warriors.
After the injury, Embiid limped to the locker room without assistance from trainers. He finished the night with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 8 turnovers.
The 7-footer from Cameroon is averaging 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in 34 games. With the new rules for MVP eligibility, Embiid can miss just five more games to retain a chance to defend his MVP title.
Ahead of this season, the NBA mandated that players play at least 65 games to be eligible for seasonal awards such as MVP and All-Pro.
Embiid scored 70 points against the Spurs on Jan. 22 but missed the next two games. With the latest injury, Denver’s Nikola Jokic had his odds rise to -125 at FanDuel Sportsbook with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at +300 and Luka Doncic at +500.
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