Sixers Await Diagnosis and Treatment Plan for Embiid's Knee as Nurse Disputes Report of Displaced Flap

The Philadelphia 76ers are still without a detailed diagnosis or treatment plan for Joel Embiid's injured left knee, coach Nick Nurse said Saturday, pushing back on a report that described the damage as a displaced flap.

Asked before the team's game against the Brooklyn Nets whether he had learned anything further about the injury, Nurse answered simply: "Nope." The Athletic had reported earlier in the day that Embiid has a displaced flap, which is a type of tear that regularly requires surgery. Smaller tears, by contrast, can sometimes be managed with rest and treatment.

The team announced earlier in the week that an MRI showed Embiid had suffered an unspecified lateral meniscus injury. It came after Golden State's Jonathan Kuminga landed on the knee of the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player during the Sixers' Jan. 30 loss in San Francisco. According to Nurse, the scans taken after that game were the first to identify a meniscus problem in the knee.

Embiid had already been dealing with pain and swelling in the same knee. The issue sidelined him for three games in early January and made him a late scratch from the Jan. 27 game against the defending champion Denver Nuggets and their star Nikola Jokic.

The setback interrupts what has been the most dominant season of Embiid's career. He is averaging 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.8 blocks per game, with the points total leading the league and both the scoring and assist figures standing as career highs. The injury will almost certainly keep him from reaching the 65-game threshold needed to be eligible to repeat as MVP and earn All-NBA honors.

Nurse said Embiid has sounded "pretty positive" in their recent conversations. "Obviously, [Embiid] was playing at an incredible level," the coach said. "I think that always magnifies it a little bit, when somebody is having such a fantastic season. But we'll just wait and see what happens in the next few days."

Philadelphia entered Saturday 4-9 this season without Embiid and coming off a 1-4 road trip that dropped the team to fifth in the Eastern Conference. The game against Brooklyn opens a four-game homestand that continues with Dallas on Monday, Golden State on Wednesday and Atlanta on Friday. With Embiid out, Paul Reed and Mo Bamba will handle the center position.

The Sixers were also short-handed at forward against the Nets. Starters Tobias Harris, who is ill, and Nico Batum, who has a hamstring injury, were ruled out. Marcus Morris, who had been listed as questionable with a foot injury, was in the projected starting lineup alongside Reed, Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Danuel House Jr.