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[Saba Sports News] The Philadelphia 76ers might be ready to pull the plug on their season—starting with a major decision regarding Joel Embiid’s health.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Embiid and the Sixers are consulting doctors to explore alternative treatments for his lingering knee injury.
Both sides acknowledge that their current approach hasn’t yielded improvements, raising concerns about the star center’s availability in the coming weeks.
Embiid’s struggles were on display during Saturday’s tight loss to the Brooklyn Nets, where he sat out the entire fourth quarter despite the game being close.
He finished with just 14 points in 31 minutes. After the game, head coach Nick Nurse admitted that Embiid is “not himself” and is simply “giving us what he can.”
The reigning MVP has hinted that another surgery on his left knee might be inevitable, though he’s been attempting to delay it until the offseason.
While the Sixers aren’t eager to shut him down completely, their 20-36 record suggests little reason to risk further injury.
By his usual standards, Embiid has been a shadow of his dominant self this season, averaging 23.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game—his lowest production since his first full NBA season in 2016-17.
With the season slipping away, the Sixers may have to make a tough call on their franchise cornerstone’s future.