Joel Embiid ruled out ahead of the Sixers’ road battle in Houston; he will miss his 8th straight game

Joel Embiid will miss his 8th consecutive game with knee tendinitis when the Sixers visit the Houston Rockets tomorrow at 8pm. The news was revealed this evening by Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. After playing 23 minutes in the All-Star game back on February 23rd, the team declared that week Embiid would be out for a time and re-evaluated in a week.

Embiid has suggested that this absence was one he originally suggested; it’s a sentiment that contrasts from past narratives that he gets frustrated when the team tries to manage his work-load. If this is true it represents some maturation on his part.

As fans of the Toronto Raptors have learned, having their MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard fresh and healthy throughout the year, while resting every few games, has been a recipe for success up North. Leonard deals with a chronic quad/knee issue that has plagued him since 2012 and is fine with this type of regimen. In the past he has avoided playing in USA games in the summers, and even accepted minutes restrictions in All-Star games to ensure he’s fresh when it matters most.

Perhaps Embiid is taking a similar approach now, as he transitions from proving he can remain healthy for a full season to proving he can lead his team to playoff victory.

Whatever the case may be, hopefully the time off has been helpful as tendinitis is an overuse injury characterized by inflammation of a joint tendon. The team occupies the 4th seed in the East and Indiana who holds the 3rd seed is within reach, meanwhile Philadelphia’s division rival Boston Celtics are breathing down the Sixers’ necks for the 4th seed. They can certainly use a healthy Embiid back, something they were reminded of last night in a heartbreaking road loss to the lowly Chicago Bulls.