Sixers ‘still waiting’ for Joel Embiid’s injury diagnosis and treatment, coach Nick Nurse says

Coach Nick Nurse said the 76ers are “still waiting” for a more detailed diagnosis and treatment plan for Joel Embiid’s lateral meniscus injury in his left knee, countering a report from The Athletic on Saturday that said Embiid has a displaced flap.

“Nope,” Nurse said when asked if he had any more information about the injury before Saturday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.

Earlier this week, the Sixers said an MRI revealed Embiid had sustained an unspecified lateral meniscus injury when the Golden State Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga landed on the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player’s knee during the Sixers’ Jan. 30 loss in San Francisco. Nurse said the scans following that game were the first time a meniscus issue had been identified in Embiid’s knee.

Before that, though, Embiid had been dealing with pain and swelling in the same knee. It kept him out for three games in early January, and then caused him to be a late scratch from a high-profile Jan. 27 matchup against the defending-champion Denver Nuggets and MVP counterpart Nikola Jokic.

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A displaced flap is a type of tear, which regularly requires surgery. Rest and treatment can be an option for smaller tears.

The injury is a blow to Embiid’s most dominant season — and will almost certainly prevent him from reaching the 65-game benchmark required to repeat as MVP and All-NBA honors. He is averaging a league- and career-high 35.3 points to go along with 11.3 rebounds, a career-high 5.9 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game.

When asked how Embiid has been handling the past couple days, Nurse described the big man’s mentality during their conversations as “pretty positive.”

“Obviously, [Embiid] was playing at an incredible level,” Nurse said. “I think that always magnifies it a little bit, when somebody is having such a fantastic season. But we’ll just wait and see what happens in the next few days.”

The Sixers were 4-9 without Embiid this season entering Saturday, and are coming off a 1-4 road trip that dropped them to fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The game against the Nets begins a four-game homestand that also includes a Monday matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, a Wednesday game against the Golden State Warriors, and a Friday outing against the Atlanta Hawks. In Embiid’s absence, the Sixers will continue to rely on Paul Reed and Mo Bamba to occupy the center position.

Starting forwards Tobias Harris (illness) and Nico Batum (hamstring) will also miss Saturday’s game against the Nets. Marcus Morris, who was listed as questionable with a foot injury, is in the projected starting lineup alongside Reed, Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Danuel House Jr.