Embiid Ready For Regular Playing Time After Injury Return
2 years ago 2 min read
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Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid is targeting a regular playing time after his battle with injuries since the beginning of the new season.
He marked his return against The Bulls with points and 12 rebounds to help Philadelphia to 108-100 win on Sunday after missing the last few weeks due to a troublesome knee injury.
Embiid missed the opening nine games of the season due to a knee injury, and suspension before returning to play in four games, and then the injury relapsed, which ruled him out of action for three weeks.
He started the clash against The Bulls alongside his fellow All-Stars Tyrese Maxey and Paul George, they played 26 minutes together, outscoring the Bulls by 14 points.
Embiid is delighted to return, and he is targeting a regular playing time devoid of injury concerns.
He said: “It starts with health. It felt good to have the guys on the floor. I believe if we’re healthy, and we’re on the floor, we have a chance against anybody, and I like what we have.
“I’ve been saying it for the last few months. It’s been extremely depressing. It’s something that hasn’t been figured out, and it’s been extremely annoying, because I would love to play every single game.
“I think the whole thing is about health … that’s what it comes down to. I wish I could have been playing from the beginning. I would love to play every single game, every single minute, but sometimes your body just says, ‘No,’ and you can’t do anything about it. All you can do is just keep working to fix it and get better.
Philadelphia 76ers Nick Nurse revealed that Joel Embiid’s return was vital in their win over the Bulls.
He said: “You’re in that stage of kind of ‘Uh oh. What’s gonna go on here tonight?’.
“Then all of a sudden, he certainly caught fire there with a little bit of variety.
“I know it kind of seemed like a lot of foul line jumpers, which it was, but he snuck in a roll or two. He snuck in a couple post ups or two. No three-balls tonight, but a little variety there.
“It gave us a lot of confidence, Obviously, we guarded really well. This team’s been averaging 127 a game over their last five, I think. We rebounded extremely well tonight, both ends.”
Embiid has played in five games this season, he averages 22.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game.
He will be hoping to continue his impressive form when Philadelphia 76ers hosts Pacers on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center.
