Frequent grimacing, looking continually sluggish, and posting NBA record-low shooting numbers are all concerning traits for any team's star player. In Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the 76ers were going through those exact concerns.
But apparently, head coach Doc Rivers isn't any more concerned than he usually is. According to Sixers reporters Derek Bodner and John Clark, Rivers calmly responded when asked about his levels of concern regarding Embiid going forward in the series.
That makes one of us that has no concern. Though he had been playing on the same partially torn meniscus in the first three games of the series, in which he scored 39, 40 and 27 points, he took a few falls and seemed to have more discomfort in this game than in others. And the end result reflected that, seeing as Embiid's second-half performance was one of the key factors, if not the biggest reason, that the 76ers fell to allow the Hawks to even the series. Hopefully, Doc's claim that "he's not going to be exactly what he was," also means that he won't be what he was in the last 24 minutes of play on Monday night.
Embiid is officially listed as questionable entering Wednesday's Game 5 — a contest that he very reasonably could have been restricted for had Philly held on to win Game 4 — and his production, as always, will largely dictate his team's success.
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