Feb 22, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) controls the ball against Brooklyn Nets center Day'Ron Sharpe (20) during the third quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Nick Nurse made one thing abundantly clear ahead of Monday's game between the Sixers (20-36) and Chicago Bulls (22-35) - as murky as things are right now, the team is not willing to shut Joel Embiid down for the season yet.
"Not at that point at all," Nurse told reporters on Monday evening. "Just, again, we are playing and testing and trying to figure it out and go from there."
Earlier Monday afternoon, testing ruled the big man out for the affair with Chicago.
"There's still further testing going on, even yet today and continuing tomorrow. So, that's kind of where we are," Nurse explained.
The Sixers will see where things go from there.
This all came in the aftermath of Sunday's reporting that Embiid experienced swelling in his ailing left knee following Saturday's loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Embiid and the team are consulting doctors as they consider different options, including surgery, to treat the injured knee.
It is an admission that Embiid's condition has not progressed as both sides had hoped this season.
As of Sunday night, the belief from listening to doctors was that surgery was not required or even necessarily recommended, Charania said on ESPN's NBA Countdown. But, given the state of Philadelphia's season and the commitment to Embiid for several years still, the team will do 'what's smart', Charania said.
Mathematically, the outcome of Monday's game against Chicago should go some ways in determining 'what's smart'.
