Feb. 21 (UPI) — Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid says he is not as dominant as he once was and needs to fix his injured left knee in order to regain peak form.
Embiid made the comments after the 76ers’ 124-104 loss to the Boston Celtics on Thursday in Philadelphia. The seven-time All-Star and 2022-23 NBA MVP made 3 of 9 shots for 15 points in the setback. He pulled down just three rebounds.
The knee issue, paired with a foot sprain, resulted in just 18 appearances through the 76ers’ first 55 games this season for the oft-injured superstar.
Embiid, 30, averaged 24.3 points and 8.2 rebounds — the lowest total since his rookie year — over that span.
Embiid is averaging more than 10 fewer points per game than he did last season, when he chipped in a career-high 34.7 per bout after two-consecutive league scoring titles.
“I’m not as dominant as I was a couple of months ago, but that doesn’t mean I still can’t have a lot of impact on the game,” Embiid told reporters. “Just me being out there, I think, helps a lot. My presence, my ability to attract double-teams, get guys more shots.
“It’s just tough because you know you can do so much more. But there’s no excuses. It’s just the way it is. You just have to find ways to figure it out and get better.”
The 76ers, who made the playoffs each of the last seven years, sit 15 games under .500 and in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings. They are on a six-game losing streak. The 76ers are 8-10 this season with Embiid in their lineup. They were 31-8 with him in the lineup last season and 287-146 in such instances over his first eight seasons.
The 76ers (20-35) will look to snap their losing streak against the Brooklyn Nets (20-35) at 7:30 p.m. EST Saturday in Philadelphia.
