A contentious refrain crammed Madison Sq. Backyard the final time the Philadelphia 76ers visited the Knicks.
It was April 30, and chants of “F–k” Embiid bellowed all through Recreation 5 of a tense first-round playoff sequence — a not-so-subtle nod to Joel Embiid turning into New York’s latest sports activities villain.
Wednesday marked the Sixers’ first sport on the Backyard since that instant-classic sequence, which the Knicks gained in six video games.
“It was a little bit weird,” 76ers head coach Nick Nurse recalled of that sequence. “Nothing seemed to matter. Star guys would score. Star guys would not score. They’d get tons of rebounds. We’d get tons of rebounds. It didn’t seem to matter. Every game was close. It was strange in that sense.”
However a lot has modified for the 76ers since then.
After going 47-35 final season, the Sixers entered Wednesday at simply 20-37, good for twelfth place within the Japanese Convention. They’d misplaced eight video games in a row.
Embiid missed his second sport in a row as a result of damage administration for his surgically-repaired left knee, delaying his MSG return and taking a lot of the luster out of Wednesday’s playoff rematch.
Embiid, the NBA’s 2022-23 MVP, has performed in solely 19 of a attainable 58 video games this season.
Final week, Embiid cited the necessity to “fix the problem” in his left knee. This week, Nurse confirmed Embiid was present process checks on his knee however {that a} choice about whether or not to close down the 7-foot middle had not been made.
“I expect to see him in the next couple of days to have an update on that,” Nurse mentioned Wednesday.
That knee has plagued Embiid since final winter, when he underwent surgical procedure as a result of a torn meniscus.
Although he was lower than three months faraway from that operation when he confronted the Knicks within the playoffs, Embiid averaged 33.0 factors, 10.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists in that sequence.
Past his manufacturing, Embiid drew the ire of Knicks followers when he dragged middle Mitchell Robinson to the court docket on a shot try in Recreation 3, leading to a flagrant foul that Donte DiVincenzo labeled as “dirty.”
Embiid dedicated one other flagrant foul in Recreation 5 when he swiped a driving Jalen Brunson’s head.
“New York is my favorite city in the world,” Embiid mentioned after listening to jeers all through Recreation 5. “I’ve had a place here for the past five years, so I just love New York. The fans, when you play against a team, they’re always going to pick that guy. … I love it. If I’ve got to be the punching bag and hear a lot of ‘F Embiid,’ that’s OK. I love it.”
Whereas Wednesday’s pregame introduction of the 76ers’ starters earned delicate boos from Knicks followers, these jeers had been seemingly nothing in comparison with what Embiid would have heard.
Even when he has performed this season, Embiid has appeared compromised. His averages of 23.8 factors and eight.2 rebounds per sport and 44.4% taking pictures pale compared to his earlier 4 seasons.
The Sixers’ offseason signing of Paul George, a nine-time All-Star, to a four-year, $212 million contract has not picked up the slack.
George, 34, entered Wednesday averaging 16.8 factors per sport after posting a minimum of 21.5 factors per sport in every of the earlier 9 seasons. He scored solely two factors in 37 minutes in a Feb. 12 loss to the Nets that Embiid and Tyrese Maxey each missed with accidents.
The Sixers’ first-round decide this summer time is top-six protected, which means that in the event that they end with a decide between No. 7 and No. 30, it can belong to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder.
Philadelphia introduced Tuesday that veteran guard Eric Gordon would bear surgical procedure on his proper wrist. Kyle Lowry stays out with a hip damage.
Earlier than Wednesday’s sport, Nurse acknowledged a “very difficult” vibe across the Sixers amid their damage uncertainty.
“Can we handle some of the uncertainty around some of our core guys not playing, etc., and [can] guys that are getting chances go out there and compete? Nurse asked.
“Can the new guys find some kind of footing a little bit? It’s been pretty sporadic and erratic with a bunch of them. Hopefully those can settle in a little bit. Again, just being professional, going out there and playing and giving a great effort.”
It’s a far fall for a staff that was just lately thought of among the many Japanese Convention’s prime contenders.
