Philadelphia 76ers president for basketball operations and general manager Bryan Colangelo said that Joel Embiid’s left knee injury should not be labeled as a torn meniscus but rather a “very minor meniscal tear” and bone bruise.
Colangelo also stated that Embiid, a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year, is very unlikely to play in the Rising Stars game during the All-Star break next week in New Orleans.
“A lot of players do play with minor tears. The tear doesn’t seem to be the source of the pain,” Colangelo said Saturday before the Sixers’ game against the Miami Heat.
Embiid has missed nine straight games with the injury. Counting Saturday, he will have missed 12 of the last 13 games.
After sitting out his first two seasons with a foot injury, Embiid injured his knee on Jan. 20 in a 93-92 home victory over Portland and hasn’t played since Jan. 27, when he had 32 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks in a nationally televised 123-118 home loss to James Harden and Houston.
Colangelo also added “this is not thought to be a serious injury but a complicated injury.”
Embiid’s absence against the Heat came one night after cellphone video captured the Sixers center dancing on stage at a Meek Mill concert in Philadelphia. The video caused a mini firestorm in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters at Saturday morning’s shootaround at the team’s practice facility in Camden, New Jersey, the 22-year-old rookie said his dancing was all about having fun.
“Meek invited me to the stage,” Embiid said. “I had fun. That’s what I’m about, just enjoying life.”
Philadelphia coach Brett Brown deflected questions about Embiid in Saturday’s pregame meeting with reporters, saying he had a conversation with Embiid about it and that he wanted to keep that talk private. When pressed about it not being a good look for Embiid to dance on stage when he can’t play on the court, Brown acknowledged that was part of the discussion.
“The conversations I had with Joel after I saw the video included a lot, some of which you mentioned,” Brown said. “By and large, I’d probably prefer it was a private conversation.”
Asked if he was disappointed by Embiid’s actions, Brown said, “I’m not going to go there anymore. I’ve spoken with Joel privately and I’ll leave it at that.”
Embiid is averaging 20.2 points and 7.8 rebounds in 31 games this season.
Philadelphia has two games remaining after Saturday before the break, and Brown said he didn’t know if Embiid would be healthy enough to play in either.
The 76ers entered Saturday 13-18 with Embiid in the lineup and 6-16 without him.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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