After 76ers center Joel Embiid finished with 31 points and 12 rebounds in Philadelphia’s 108-100 win against the Bulls, he admitted it has been a difficult process for him mentally to go through trying to get his left knee to a place where he can play.
“Depressing,” Embiid told ESPN when asked what the past couple of months have been like for him. “Just trying to figure it out. There’s no injury. Just between the swelling … we’ve got to get it figured out. That’s it.
“I’ve been saying it for the last few months. It’s been extremely depressing. It’s something that hasn’t been figured out, and it’s been extremely annoying, because I would love to play every single game.”
Embiid still has faith that despite the rough start to the season for the 76ers, who have now rattled off wins in four of their past five games after opening the season 3-14, there’s still time for them to do the things they set out to do before the season began.
“It starts with health,” Embiid told ESPN. “It felt good to have the guys on the floor. I believe if we’re healthy, and we’re on the floor, we have a chance against anybody, and I like what we have.
“I think the whole thing is about health … that’s what it comes down to. I wish I could have been playing from the beginning. I would love to play every single game, every single minute, but sometimes your body just says, ‘No,’ and you can’t do nothing about it. All you can do is just keep working to fix it and get better.”
Embiid missed the opening nine games of the season because of his knee and a league suspension. He returned to play in four games — including a 35-point performance in Memphis on Nov. 20 — before again being shut down and missing the past two and a half weeks of action because of swelling in his knee, as well as for personal reasons.
