INGLEWOOD, Calif. — What a wild coincidence that as soon as the clock could start on his suspension, Joel Embiid was healthy enough to play. Who could have seen that coming?
Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse, when asked about Embiid’s three-game suspension from the league for pushing a columnistconfirmed earlier ESPN reports that Wednesday’s road game against the Clippers was the first game of Embiid’s suspension, meaning he will return next Tuesday against the New York Knicks.
“I’m glad it’s done…” Nurse said before his team faced the Clippers, which theoretically would have been Embiid’s first game back. “I think now we’ve got a timeline on when we’re going to see him on the floor. That’s going to be Tuesday.”
Another wild coincidence: Embiid will be back for a nationally televised game against the Knicks, which kicks off the NBA Cup (formerly the In-Season Tournament) that the league bent over backwards to promote.
Embiid has yet to play this season for what the team described as “left knee injury management.” Embiid had surgery on his left knee meniscus last February, pushed to return for a playoff series against the Knicks where he averaged 33 points and 10.8 rebounds per game but was slowed by his knee and played through Bells Palsy. Embiid also played and won a gold medal for Team USA in the Paris Olympics. From the start of training camp, Nurse and 76ers president Daryl Morey discussed making it a priority for Embiid to be healthy, even if that meant missing half of back-to-back or other regular season games.
When Embiid missed opening night — a nationally televised game — the league investigated whether he violated the league’s Player Participation Policy by being healthy and sitting out. NBA fines 76ers $100,000 for ‘inconsistent’ statements on how Embiid’s knee injury was managed, but also “confirmed that Embiid was unable to play in the 76ers’ regular season games this season due to a left knee condition.”
Frustration with the 76ers’ 1-5 start and Embiid’s absence, as well as a column in the Philadelphia Inquirer that unnecessarily dragged Embiid’s son Arthur and late brother (whom Arthur is named after) into the discussion, led to an angry Embiid pushing the columnist. Which led to the suspension.
That led to us knowing when Embiid will be back on the court.
