Does Embiid have osteoarthritis?

[BenPlusShooters]

Embiid missed the 14 of the final 24 games in the regular season last year due to knee soreness and was complaining about pain in his knee throughout the playoffs. Sone thought his issue was tendinitis but he choose to wear a curious knee brace before game 1 where he was listed as questionable in the brooklyn series. David Chao M.D. (@profootballdoc) wrote this ominious article about Joel when he saw the unloader brace Embiid wore.

Sometimes a picture is indeed worth a thousand words.

It certainly is in the case of Joel Embiid.

Read on Twitter

I am sure Embiid is tough and can play through his current knee issue, but the worry goes beyond the playoffs this year.

The picture above indicates concern about a long-term issue.

The brace shown is used for unicompartmental arthritis. It could be used for a bone bruise, but absent an acute injury that is unlikely. And given Embiid’s long-term value, I doubt the Sixers medical staff would allow him to play through a bone bruise to risk further damage.

Therefore the brace almost certainly means Embiid’s longevity is in question.

Assuming the brace means he has some sort of arthritis, there is no complete cure. There can only be management of the issue.

Can the 76ers create a dynasty if one of their key pieces has health issues? That is the significant question that arises from what we learned today.

I hope I am wrong, but the use of an unloader brace indicates a potential long-term issue which might derail the process in utimately bringing a championship to Philadelphia.

Embiid proceeded to be in pain throughout the playoffs ans Jackie Mac said he needed 6 treatements a day during the playoffs. Furthermore Embiid didnt do his usual offseason work with hanlen this summer which may point to him resting his troubled knee.

He also showed up to camp overweight at 280lbs according to the media day measurements.

If Embiid really does have arthritis in his knee doesnt that effectively kill any trade value he has on the open market since thats a death sentence for a pro athlete?

[BenPlusShooters]

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[BenPlusShooters]

Also Embiid even out of shape was a dominant rim protector in the past 3 seasons but has fallen off a cliff this year which matches the eye test and data.

Embiid DFG% <6ft:

16-17: 43.7 (-17.1)

17-18: 50.1 (-12.1)

18-19: 52.2 (-9.4)

19-20: 59.8 (-2.5)

[Kolkmania]

We don't know, there could be tons of reasons for him having a supporting brace on.

Embiid is still a fantastic player, however at some point you have to wonder the longevity of his career and whether it might be a good idea to cash in. The determination of this point is basically impossible for us to make since we do not know the medical reports.

That said, I think Embiid's biggest skill is his defensive awareness. That obviously hasn't faded, but he's not in the same shape to quickly react and cover the same amount of space.
I do believe that we need the DPOY version of Embiid to win a championship, not the bully-ball, back to the basket post player Embiid. If he's not capable of ever returning to the defensive force he was, I might consider trading him at some point.

[VDT]

Is it the same guy making all these alts?

[76ciology]

What if he just went from wanting to be triple x to stone cold steve austin?

[TorturedFan76]

Embiid missed the 14 of the final 24 games in the regular season last year due to knee soreness and was complaining about pain in his knee throughout the playoffs. Sone thought his issue was tendinitis but he choose to wear a curious knee brace before game 1 where he was listed as questionable in the brooklyn series. David Chao M.D. (@profootballdoc) wrote this ominious article about Joel when he saw the unloader brace Embiid wore.

Sometimes a picture is indeed worth a thousand words.

It certainly is in the case of Joel Embiid.

Read on Twitter

I am sure Embiid is tough and can play through his current knee issue, but the worry goes beyond the playoffs this year.

The picture above indicates concern about a long-term issue.

The brace shown is used for unicompartmental arthritis. It could be used for a bone bruise, but absent an acute injury that is unlikely. And given Embiid’s long-term value, I doubt the Sixers medical staff would allow him to play through a bone bruise to risk further damage.

Therefore the brace almost certainly means Embiid’s longevity is in question.

Assuming the brace means he has some sort of arthritis, there is no complete cure. There can only be management of the issue.

Can the 76ers create a dynasty if one of their key pieces has health issues? That is the significant question that arises from what we learned today.

I hope I am wrong, but the use of an unloader brace indicates a potential long-term issue which might derail the process in utimately bringing a championship to Philadelphia.

Embiid proceeded to be in pain throughout the playoffs ans Jackie Mac said he needed 6 treatements a day during the playoffs. Furthermore Embiid didnt do his usual offseason work with hanlen this summer which may point to him resting his troubled knee.

He also showed up to camp overweight at 280lbs according to the media day measurements.

If Embiid really does have arthritis in his knee doesnt that effectively kill any trade value he has on the open market since thats a death sentence for a pro athlete?

Yes. I pointed that out the night he had that brace on. Its not something you use for Tendinitis. I knew it was an off-loader brace.

[TorturedFan76]

We don't know, there could be tons of reasons for him having a supporting brace on.

Thats not a supporting brace. A supporting brace would be a regular hinged knee brace. This is an off-loader brace. It has a very specific purpose- arthritis.

[Negrodamus]

Hasn’t he played every single game in this calendar year (2020) so far, including a back to back? Why after years of load management and constant precautions would they play him 30 minutes a game on a deteriorating knee. Not to mention they have a scape goat with his messed up hand.

BenPlusShooters, I’m beginning to think you have an agenda that is anti-Embiid.

[PhillyFan11]

Jo should have been held out until after the all-star break...and def told he’s not playing in the meaningless all-star game this year. Let the hand heal and give him a long rest to be ready for the playoffs. With the position we are in the standings there won’t be a good time to rest him later. We are going to need him every game to attempt to climb higher in the standings. And obviously hindsight now, but not like Jo helped us win any of the tough games in this stretch since he’s been back

[kuclas]

He’s definitely lost some speed. He gets beat off drives even by some 6 foot 10 like the Dallas power forward/center dude. It’s one thing to get beat off the dribble by Kemba or Kyrie. It’s another thing to be beat off the dribble by a not that athletic big.

Even quicker small bigs like Bam A of the heat. He beats Embiid regular on the pick and roll. If Embiid is in position. He can be a big deterrent. But he gets beat off the paint and recover time is much slower these days.

That’s why he can’t trap and roll back and defend the paint any more. He’s better off sagging off.

[VDT]

I mean, he is looking a little sluggish sometimes but people shouldnt compare him to his fist year when he was a rookie playing 20min. As the players get more experienced they tend to use their athleticism less even if they still possess the same level of athleticism. They dont need it and they preserve their body. If anything a potential quickness and explosion loss will limit his offensive upside more imo.

[phillynative]

There are obviously some health concerns . He didnt come back in top shape and hes atleast 10 pound too heavy. So i can imagine he didnt do alot of cardio work over the summer.

If most nights hes playing centers who are only around 250 pounds and hes 280 ofcourse they are going to go by him once in a while

[Kobblehead]

Most view Embiid as someone to ride until the wheels fall off because he's just that good.

Embiid is highly likely to be out of the league by 2025, but we're also highly likely to have a parade down Broad Street if we just get him a star level ball handler to play with within that window.

[Negrodamus]

If we're basically able to sleepwalk to a playoff spot, why even play Embiid more than 40 games in a regular season. Just sprinkle in games for him to play to keep him in shape, then unleash him in the playoffs with somewhat fresh knees. I don't think there's a deteriorating knee issue here.

[Kobblehead]

If we're basically able to sleepwalk to a playoff spot, why even play Embiid more than 40 games in a regular season. Just sprinkle in games for him to play to keep him in shape, then unleash him in the playoffs with somewhat fresh knees. I don't think there's a deteriorating knee issue here.

I don't think Embiid is secure enough in his legacy and status to take a backseat and let someone else do all the driving (Simmons) for the franchise.

One of the reasons he rushed back from injury was to stop the Simmons Show from fully taking over.

[ivysixer2000]

If we're basically able to sleepwalk to a playoff spot, why even play Embiid more than 40 games in a regular season. Just sprinkle in games for him to play to keep him in shape, then unleash him in the playoffs with somewhat fresh knees. I don't think there's a deteriorating knee issue here.

I don't think Embiid is secure enough in his legacy and status to take a backseat and let someone else do all the driving (Simmons) for the franchise.

One of the reasons he rushed back from injury was to stop the Simmons Show from fully taking over.

I don't know if I agree with the 'He came back cause of Simmons' theory.

Is he secure with his legacy and status with all that money and a GF he likes that he probably couldn't get without all that money?? You might be thinking what you want to think about him being that competitive with Ben, but it might not be reality.

That's a narrative that would clearly be good for the Sixers as a team, but its not something we can just assume. I don't question if he wants to play, but clearly the question is if he wants to play hard like every game is his last......at this point, even in the playoffs.

[the_process]

Hasn’t he played every single game in this calendar year (2020) so far, including a back to back? Why after years of load management and constant precautions would they play him 30 minutes a game on a deteriorating knee. Not to mention they have a scape goat with his messed up hand.

BenPlusShooters, I’m beginning to think you have an agenda that is anti-Embiid.

You went way out on a limb with that assumption.

[rzzzzz]

remember when we were worried after he didn't mend after the first navicular operation, and Sam consulted the best, cutting edge specialists for the 2nd operation, and then sent him to that high tech program in Qatar to rehab? if there is an underlying deterioration, the current FO had best be taking a similar route.