The Philadelphia 76ers just played their final game before the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend tips off in Utah on Friday. The 76ers have one All-Star on the ballot, Joel Embiid.
While many believe James Harden should’ve joined Embiid as an All-Star, the league leader in assists was not selected. However, his chances of becoming a part of the weekend as an All-Star replacement might have just shot up.
Joel Embiid has been playing through minor injuries to ensure he can lead the Philadelphia 76ers up the standings to be the Eastern Conference contender that people may have been ignoring. However, to do that, Embiid may sacrifice playing in his 6th consecutive All-Star game.
Embiid, on whether he'll play in the All-Star game (1/2):
"I’m not sure, I’m not healthy. I haven’t been healthy for the past three weeks or month, I was just trying to get to the All-Star break without missing games and stuff."
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) February 16, 2023
Embiid elaborated and let everyone know that this decision is motivated by the advice he has received from doctors.
(2/2)
"But I feel like I’ve reached the point where I really need to follow the doctor’s advice and miss, back then he said I should have been sitting for two weeks. Going to see how the next few days go and go from there."
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) February 16, 2023
There have been many players that have been ruled out of the All-Star game because of injuries, with Embiid becoming the latest after the likes of Stephen Curry, Zion Williamson, and Kevin Durant.
Should Joel Embiid Take The All-Star Break To Recuperate?
Joel Embiid has to prioritize the Philadelphia 76ers. They have their strongest squad since 2019 and could realistically contend in the East. That won’t happen if Embiid is playing through an injury for the second half of the season. He’s been an All-Star before but hasn’t ever made it past the second round of the playoffs, so his goals are grander than playing in the game again.
Embiid is averaging 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.5 blocks this season and could repeat as scoring champion of the league, though he is facing stiff competition from Luka Doncic. The goal is to win for his team and if taking 9 days off right now helps him do that, he should definitely look at that as an option.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
