Joel Embiid injury update: 76ers star cleared to return for Game 2 vs. Celtics

Embiid reportedly was 'on track' to suit up Wednesday night against the Celtics

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid said "it's a possibility" that he'd play through a knee sprain in Game 2 of the team's second-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. Embiid, who missed Philly's Game 1 win and has not played since April 20, spoke with the media Wednesday morning, the day after he was named 2022-23 NBA MVP. Shams Charania reported that Embiid was "on track" to return if there were no setbacks before game time.

"It's a possibility, just like it was a possibility in the first game," Embiid said. "...I want to play."

Well, roughly 30 minutes before the scheduled opening tip of Game 2 against the Celtics, the Sixers made it official by clearing Embiid to return to the floor and rejoin the team's starting lineup. 

Despite Embiid's absence, the Sixers secured a stunning 119-115 victory on the road thanks to James Harden, who delivered one of the finest playoff performances of his career. Harden poured in 45 points and dished out six assists, and hit the biggest shot of the game: a go-ahead 3-pointer with 8.4 seconds to play. 

The Sixers have now stolen home-court advantage from a Celtics team that remains the favorite to win the title, and are three wins away from advancing to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2001. That is still a long way off, however, and they may ultimately need Embiid to get there. 

Embiid suffered the right knee injury in Game 3 of the Sixers' first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets. In the third quarter of that game, he went up to contest a shot by Cameron Johnson and landed in an awkward tangle of limbs alongside the Nets forward. Embiid got up slowly and was flexing his knee in the immediate aftermath, but played the remainder of the game. That game was the last time we saw him on the floor. 

After further examination, doctors determined that he suffered an LCL sprain in his right knee. It's still unclear exactly how serious Embiid's injury is, and what sort of shape he may be in when he gets out on the floor. He was on the court for shootaround the morning of Game 1 without a brace but was not moving well and The Athletic reported that he's received platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections on his knee and has not done much running. 

We've seen Embiid play through serious injuries in the playoffs before, including a torn meniscus in 2021 and a broken orbital bone and torn ligament in his thumb in 2022. It is no surprise, then, that he's willing to fight through the pain again to make an early return in this series.