NEW YORK -- Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers says he is unsure whether superstar center and NBA MVP finalist Joel Embiid will be ready for the start of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
"I just don't know," Rivers said Saturday when asked after Philadelphia's 96-88 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series at the Barclays Center if Embiid, who suffered a right knee sprain in Thursday's win in Game 3, would be ready for the second round of the playoffs.
"I would say, right now, it's probably the same percentage I said before the game ... probably 50 percent, at best."
Embiid suffered the injury early in the third quarter of Game 3, when he landed awkwardly after trying to contest a drive by Nets forward Cam Johnson. Embiid remained in the game and made a game-saving block on a drive by Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie in the closing seconds to preserve the win, after which Rivers said swelling and pain behind the knee prompted an MRI.
"From my understanding, they checked his knee out right after the game because he was complaining about some soreness behind the knee," Rivers said before Saturday's game, "which is always a scary thing to hear about with players. There was swelling already, which is way too early, so we did the MRI."
Even without Embiid, Philadelphia was able to dispatch the Nets behind a 25-point, 12-rebound performance from Tobias Harris, propelling the 76ers to their first sweep of any kind since the 1992 playoffs, and their first best-of-seven series sweep since 1985. Now, the 76ers will be spending the next few days rooting for the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks to wear each other out in their first-round series.
Why? Because how long that Celtics-Hawks series goes, which Boston leads 2 games to 1 after Atlanta's win in Game 3 Friday night, will play a large role in determining when the Eastern Conference semifinals will actually get underway. Game 4 of that series takes place Sunday night, followed by Game 5 Tuesday, Game 6 (if necessary) on Thursday and Game 7 (if necessary) on Saturday.
Based off precedent, if the Celtics win the next two games and close that series out in five games, it's likely that the start of a Celtics-Sixers Eastern Conference semifinal series will be Saturday in Boston, followed by Game 2 likely being on Monday.
If Boston-Atlanta goes to at least six games, however, then it's likely the series would begin Monday in Boston.
Either way, the two certainties that Saturday's win for the 76ers produced is that Philadelphia will now get at least a week to rest and prepare for the second round, and that there will be a whole lot of Hawks fans within the Sixers organization -- and its fan base -- hoping Atlanta gets at least another win against the Celtics to extend the series, and allow Embiid more time to get himself healthy.
"Guys miss time, and guys have to step up," said 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey, who had 16 points and eight rebounds in 39 minutes Saturday. "That's a testament to our depth.
"We want everybody to healthy. I think this is going to be big for us. This sweep, we get some rest now ... I think it's a week? That's going to be huge. We've got time to prepare our bodies, our minds, our scout and things like that, and then time to let everybody relax and decompress."
Last year, Philadelphia was in a similar situation -- up 3-0 in the first round against the Toronto Raptors with a chance to close out the series with a sweep. Instead, the 76ers not only lost Game 4 but also Game 5 of that series, forcing it back to Toronto for a sixth game. And while Philadelphia won that game to move on to an Eastern Conference semifinals matchup with the Miami Heat, that game saw Embiid catch an inadvertent elbow from Pascal Siakam to the face, causing him to suffer an orbital bone fracture that forced him to miss the first two games of what eventually became a six-game series loss to Miami.
Rivers praised his team's level of maturity for not only taking care of business against Brooklyn Saturday but doing so with Embiid sidelined.
"Absolutely," Rivers said, "and especially with this circumstance. Not having your big fella, and not worrying about it. I thought that was important for us."
Embiid has had a series of unfortunate and untimely injuries throughout his playoff career. He missed time in the 2018 postseason with an orbital bone fracture that he suffered late in the regular season when he collided with teammate Markelle Fultz. He suffered the other orbital bone fracture last year, after previously hurting a thumb earlier in the Miami series. In 2020, Philadelphia was swept out of the bubble by Boston in the first round after Ben Simmons was lost for the season because of his own knee injury.
As he went through the best season of his career this year, leading the league in scoring for a second straight season and finishing as a finalist for the league's MVP award for the third season in a row, Embiid repeatedly said his overarching goal was to arrive at the postseason healthy.
And, after doing so and dominating the Nets inside through the first two games of the series, he then suffered this knee injury -- which is why Rivers was asked before the game if there was concern about Embiid getting down about another unlucky break, and what he would do to keep his superstar's spirits up.
His message? That this is just another thing for the 76ers to deal with as they try to achieve their championship aspirations.
"Obviously, clearly that's on your mind," Rivers said. "But as I said, this is another obstacle in the story that we're going to write this year, and you're going to be OK. It may take a minute, but this is just part of it.
"To me, I'm sure ... he's human, and goodness, this happens again. Let's win, let's get him back on the floor and let's keep on our own journey."