Man, doesn’t it feel like everyone is coming down with something these days?
Joel Embiid initially showed up as questionable for the Sixers’ upcoming matchup against the New York Knicks. He has since been ruled out hours ahead of the game.
Tyrese Maxey had missed the last two games with an illness as well, but appears to be back as he is no longer listed. It feels like a safe assumption that Embiid caught whatever Maxey was dealing with. It seems like Embiid tried his hardest to give it a go in this one. [He was reportedly present for the morning’s shootaround](https://x.com/SixersAdam/status/2002034251877761142?s=20).
Naturally this didn’t come without something to uneasily speculate about. When the Sixers ruled him out, they also threw a “right knee injury management” tag on his listing as well. The right knee hasn’t been listed for Embiid since it caused him to miss nine games in the second half of November.
The fact that this initially wasn’t reported after Embiid played his first game with less than two days of rest is a good sign. Hopefully it’s just a listing the team put out to cross their Ts and dot their Is, but it’s the Sixers, and they’ve had four days off since that game without having to submit an injury report, so who the hell knows. It’s also worth remembering this is a front end of a back-to-back for the Sixers, with that second leg being a home game.
This is a back-to-back for the Knicks as well, and despite this being their second game, they should have most of their guys available. Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart are both listed as probable.
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