We have to very seriously consider the possibility that the Sixers got Joel Embiid further injured when they allowed him to play against the Rockets, at home, on a Friday night, on national TV. For three years, they had been so cautious with the faintest whiff of injuries. And then for one night they decided to throw caution to the wind to capitalize on a wave of optimism and publicity. What happens? Embiid’s meniscus tear eventually gets worse, puts him out for the season, and I suspect will require surgery.

Further, is there any doubt that his injury, seen here, was never really just a bone bruise? From the moment it happened against the Trailblazers I was baffled that the Sixers called it that. As Derek Bodner reported, an MRI that took place between the injury and the Rockets game a week later first revealed the meniscus tear. But that doesn’t excuse the fact that the Sixers let Embiid come back into the Trailblazers game with little evaluation (he tweaked his knee a second time before they took him out for good). They then let him play against the Rockets. In the following weeks, Embiid danced on stage with Meek Mill, shot barefoot step-back threes, filmed a Jolly Rancher commercial with Bill Vargus (who has since deleted his post )🤔, and started practicing again. Now he’s out for the season and being evaluated by a team of doctors. The Sixers are grossly incompetent.