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CAMDEN, New Jersey – Joel Embiid was wearing a Sixers sweatshirt, holding a basketball in his hands and sitting in front of microphones on the last day of February.
Although he was absent from every game this month due to his left lateral meniscus injury, Embiid has been rehabbing and confirmed Thursday that he plans to return this season.
Beyond that, he didn’t offer any specific details on a timeline.
“It’s about how I feel,” Embiid said. “The rehabilitation is going quite well. Ups and downs, but you make it. The goal is just to try to be as healthy as possible and come back.”
Why is the reigning MVP looking to return at the end of the season for a team currently in sixth place in the standings? Eastern Conference standings?
“Same reason I was pushing the last two games,” Embiid said. “I love playing basketball. I want to be on the ground. I only have about 20 years to do this, so every chance I get, I want to be on the court.
“It doesn’t matter where we are (in the standings): four, five, three, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11. It doesn’t really matter where we are, I just want to play as much as I do. “can and try to help us.”
As for that emphasis on moving forward, Embiid said he wouldn’t have handled the stretch before Jonathan Kuminga fell on his left knee any differently.
Embiid missed five games in January due to his knee discomfort, including the two before that painful, nightmarish game against the Warriors.
“It wasn’t (just) about those last two games,” he said. “It was the same thing that was happening a couple of weeks before, where I felt like I wasn’t myself, but I was still good enough to go out there because I know 60 or 70 percent of me can still help the team for a while.” “. Lot at both ends of the floor.
“At that point, we had just lost two or three games in a row and the guys were fading. Like I said, my mentality is to play, so I have to do whatever it takes to help the team. “Sometimes it helps me, sometimes it doesn’t.”
Embiid called the injury “super annoying” and “extremely frustrating,” though he smiled as he described his recent shift to being more of a stay-at-home dad.
“Apart from rehab, family time,” he said of his final weeks. “Honestly, this is probably the best time… my family, just being around them: my wife, my son. He loves it right now. I’m not going anywhere, I’m not going to do anything. He’s getting too used to it. He doesn’t want me to leave the house anymore.
“It’s fun to just play. He obviously goes to school, but he spends his days hanging out and doing a lot of different things. The family time has been fantastic and I’m sure they are enjoying it too.”
The Sixers went 4-8 without Embiid in February. While his health had improved after the All-Star break, De’Anthony Melton re-injured his back in a Tuesday night loss to the Celtics and KJ Martin was sidelined with an ankle impingement. right. Martin is still not back to 100 percent, although his injury does not appear serious. At the very least, Melton won’t play Friday night against the Hornets.
“KJ did about three-quarters of practice today,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said. “I still don’t have authorization to do everything possible. However, that could change at any time. He’s getting a little better every day. And Melt is out, and we don’t know for how long.”
Although available, Tobias Harris has played poorly in the Sixers’ four games since the break.
Unprompted, Embiid mentioned the veteran forward on Thursday.
“What I have learned from being around is that my presence helps a lot,” he said. “The other day I spoke to Tobias for almost an hour, just trying to help him.
“He is a good player. We all go through difficult times and I am sure he will get through them. But I think he’s just my presence, being around the team. Obviously traveling is a little different because I have to focus on my rehabilitation. But to the extent possible, that’s what I’m going to do.”
As a presence on the court, Embiid knows he would be immensely valuable if he returned this season.
“I still believe that as a basketball player I can do much better than the level I played at,” he said. “I have a lot of confidence in myself and I also feel like I can bring a lot of things to the team in terms of my impact on both ends of the court.
“That’s what I always believe. It doesn’t matter who’s on the roster, it doesn’t matter who’s coaching. I still believe that I have a chance to win, no matter what the situation is.
“We were playing at a high level, especially when we were all healthy. I think the way Tyrese (Maxey) has been playing and the couple of guys we added… and then obviously everyone else has to follow. “I still think we have a lot of possibilities.”