Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid received another tough injury update on Sunday afternoon, which could cause the team to shut him down for the rest of the season. Embiid has been no stranger to unfortunate and untimely injuries throughout his career. Frankly, it comes as more of a surprise when he's healthy for the entire season than when he's out of action.
Per ESPN NBA Insider Shams Charania, Embiid and the 76ers are considering shutting him down for the entire season with surgery very much on the table. It's another sad turn in what was supposed to be a championship-level campaign for the Sixers. Instead, Philadelphia sits at 20-36 as of this writing and out of the playoff race. Should Embiid be forced out for the rest of the season, it's tough to see Philly making up the necessary ground to make a real playoff run.
Subscribe to The Whiteboard, FanSided’s daily email newsletter on everything basketball. If you like The Whiteboard, share it with a friend! If you don’t like it, share it with an enemy.
Philadelphia 76ers starting lineup without Joel Embiid
The 76ers lineup is severely lacking down low without Embiid, who is a force to be reckoned with when he's healthy. It's unclear where exactly Philadelphia will turn without Embiid in the lineup, as they have a litany of options depending on whether they prefer to play a big or small starting five. Here is our best guess.
Position | Player |
|---|---|
Guard | Tyrese Maxey |
Guard | Quentin Grimes |
Forward | Kelly Oubre Jr. |
Forward | Paul George |
Center | Guerschon Yabusele |
Yabusele is listed as the backup center on the 76ers official depth chart, but he is only 6-8. Against bigger teams, the Sixers could roll with Andre Drummond at the center position, and he should expect to see increased minutes regardless.
Joel Embiid injury history: Every ailment that led to potential 76ers shutdown
It should be mentioned that the 76ers sat Embiid numerous times over the years due to knee injury management. Thus, Embiid has appeared in less than the full 82 games in all of his professional seasons. Embiid missed the entirety of the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons due to injury. He also played in just 31 games in 2017 due to various knee issues.
Embiid played in just 39 games last season due to a meniscus injury. It's unclear if that ailment is related to this one, but the number of lower-body injuries is adding up for the 76ers big man, which is typically an issue for seven footers at the professional level.
This season, Embiid played in just 19 of 56 games due to lingering knee issues, so the 76ers shutting him down – even if it turns out to be for precautionary reasons – makes sense in the long term.