Stop me if you've heard this one before: Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has suffered an injury and will be out for at least a week.
The oft-injured All Star exited Wednesday's game just eight minutes after tipoff, following a collision with Cleveland Cavaliers' big man Ante Zizic but there's hope that he won't miss much action. The team announced on Thursday that Embiid did not have structural damage in his sprained left shoulder and he will be re-evaluated in a week.
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
The Sixers picked up a win over the New York Knicks on Thursday night without the help of Embiid nor Ben Simmons, who is expected to miss at least two weeks with a back issue. To date, Embiid has missed 17 games this season due to either injury or suspension although there does seem to be some encouragement from the Sixers in the fact that his latest injury does not appear to be too severe.
"The fact that there is no structural damage we all hear loudly," Sixers head coach Brett Brown said on Thursday, per ESPN. "Maybe it's a simple as that in some ways. Of course, it's as much from the personal standpoint as it is a selfish coach, he's looking forward to this run home, this final third, this responsibility, no Ben [Simmons] for how long we'll all figure out in time. To learn that from him and his perspective, from the team perspective that is exciting news."
Up next for the Sixers is a four-game West coast road trip, including matchups against the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers.
Ben Simmons "Nearly" Vomits At Sight Of Joel Embiid’s Finger Injury
"I felt my finger snapping and I thought I fractured it."
If you don't care to start off your Tuesday morning with some nauseating footage, now is the time to get out of here.
If you're still with us... Philadelphia 76ers' All Star center Joel Embiid dislocated his left ring finger during the first quarter of Monday night's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Needless to say, it was a gruesome sight that had everybody on the court, in the arena, watching on tv or scrolling their twitter feeling queasy.
To further paint the picture, Ben Simmons admitted that he almost vomited on the spot when he witnessed Embiid's finger essentially turn into a '7.' "I nearly threw up when I saw that," Simmons said following Philly's 120-113 victory.
Warning: This is your last chance to abort if you've not yet seen the mangled finger.
Fortunately, Embiid was able to continue playing after having his finger popped back into place and taped up. Of course, the issue persisted throughout the game as Embiid powered through the injury.
"I felt my finger snapping and I thought I fractured it," Embiid said. "They did some X-rays and said it was nothing."
"I couldn't go up with two hands," Embiid said. "There were a couple of times I could have grabbed with both hands but I just couldn't. I just kept tapping it."
Despite the dislocated finger, Embiid finished with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Simmons, who was able to keep his lunch down, added 17 points, 15 rebounds and eight dimes as the Sixers improved to 24-14 on the year.
