By Jerry Wein
There has been a lot of buzz lately about Sixers Joel Embiid right knee.
He suffered a torn meniscus in last spring’s playoffs, and he played through, averaging 28.1 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 11 games as the Sixers were bounced in the second round by the Hawks.
Then, on opening night of the new season last week, he endured a knee-on-knee collision against the Pels.
You could tell Embiid was affected by the knee since then because he was wincing a lot.
But in last night’s 110-102 win over the awful Pistons at the Wells, Embiid scored 30 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in 31 minutes — not to mention hitting a step-back 3-pointer in the final minute to help stave off the rallying Pistons.
“He imposed his will in several parts,” coach Doc Rivers said.
Embiid’s health was debated to the point that some fans and media believed the center should take the game off against the Pistons and give him one more day of rest before the Sixers play Saturday.
“There’s no excuses. I’m fine,” Embiid said.
The Sixers’ 14-point edge evaporated in a loss to Brooklyn in the home opener and last season’s Eastern Conference semifinal loss to Atlanta was plagued by lost leads, notably blowing a 26-point lead in a Game 5 defeat.
It almost happened again after former Villanova standout Saddiq Bey buried a 3 that pulled the Pistons to 101-94 and another that made it 103-97.
Embiid, though, sank four free throws and buried a 3 from the top of the arc in the waning moments that saved the Sixers — who had 20 turnovers — from a complete meltdown.
“You’ve just got to bury a team,” Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey said.
Embiid went through shootaround and a pregame workout feeling healthy enough to give the game a try. Embiid, who has a history of injuries, was NBA MVP runner-up last season and one strike against him was games played: He played in 51 games while Denver’s Nikola Jokic played all 72. Embiid had plenty of reasons to play — and made the Pistons pay.
“Every single year, I come in with the mindset of trying to play every single game I can,” Embiid said. “I’ve got to play more games than I have in the past. So far this year, I’m on the right path.”
Bad knee or not, he was his usual dominant self. Embiid crashed on the court several times and was even whistled for a technical foul for trash-talking Luke Garza after a rim-crushing dunk.
Embiid dumped a behind-the-back pass to Maxey for a baseline 3-pointer and a 48-43 lead. Embiid had 19 points and 12 rebounds in the first half to send the Sixers into the break with a 52-46 lead.
“I’ve never seen that before and I’m so glad I made it,” Maxey said of Embiid’s pass. “If not, oof, oof.”
Bey led the Pistons with 19 points. Detroit used a 16-1 run late to make the game interesting and fell to 0-4.
“I didn’t start off the game well and missed some early reads and easy shots,” Bey said. “The rhythm was a little off at the beginning. I want to win so bad that I’m going to find the rhythm and help the team as much as possible.”
Tobias Harris scored 17 points and Maxey had 16 for the Sixers.
