For the Sixers to contend, Joel Embiid must dig deep and find a way to play through pain

While Joel Embiid exclaimed ‘Africans don’t feel pain,’ he belabored his thumb injury in Saturday's loss to the Raptors and could continue to do so for the rest of the postseason.

Sixers center Joel Embiid loses the basketball driving to the basket against Toronto Raptors forward Thaddeus Young, forward OG Anunoby and forward Pascal Siakam late in the second quarter during Game 4 of the first-round Eastern Conference playoffs on Saturday.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

by Keith Pompey

Published April 23, 2022, 7:14 p.m. ET

TORONTO — Doc Rivers acknowledged the 76ers are concerned about Joel Embiid’s right thumb.

“But, you know, it is what it is,” the Sixers’ coach said before Saturday’s 110-102 Game 4 loss to the Toronto Raptors in an Eastern Conference first-rounder at Scotiabank Arena.

The good thing for the Sixers is that Embiid’s thumb can’t get worse, according to Rivers. The bad thing is the MVP finalist must play in a lot of pain and discomfort.

Embiid had an exam that suggests that he has ligament damage in his thumb.

He’ll get an MRI on Sunday to confirm the injury.

“We’ve got to see how bad it really is,” Embiid said. “But like I always say, when I go out there I’m not really worried about whatever can happen. I just want to take care of whatever I can, focus on whatever I can focus on.”

However, his thumb was obviously painful on Saturday. At times, he noticeably winced in pain and/or shook his hand after bumping it.

Perhaps because of the pain, Embiid didn’t appear engaged in Game 4.

He missed all five of his shots and had just one point in the first quarter. Embiid went on to finish with 21 points on 7-for-16 shooting to go with eight rebounds, three assists, and five turnovers. He attempted nine foul shots, making seven.

But the usually dominant player was basically a non-factor scoring 16 points while making 2 of 3 foul shots and grabbing three rebounds through three quarters.

“I wish it would have happened on my other hand and not my shooting hand,” said Embiid, who is right-handed. “But you know I’m going to adjust. I guess I’m going to have to use my left hand even more than I’m used to. "

He slightly changed up his free-throw routine by not clapping his hands together. He admitted that it impacted his game at the free-throw line, rebounding, and passing the ball.

“It’s going to be something he’s going to have to deal with throughout the playoffs from this point on,” Rivers said. “It’s not going to go away, you know? So he’ll get better and better in figuring out how to use it.”

The Sixers will manage the injury the best they can, but it’s all up to Embiid. He suffered the injury in the first half of Game 3. He was the hero on the night, draining a game-winning three-pointer with 0.8 second remaining.

Adrenaline that night helped to carry him through. But how he plays through the injury is now dependent on his pain tolerance. He’ll either be a trooper and not let it affect them, or it could totally mess him up.

The Sixers will look to clinch the series in Monday night’s 8 p.m. Game 5 matchup at the Wells Fargo Center.

By advancing to the second round, they will face the winner of the Miami Heat vs. Atlanta Hawks series. The Heat still lead that series, 2-1, after the Hawks came back and won Game 3, 111-110, on a late Trae Young bucket on Friday. Game 4 is at 7 p.m. on Sunday in Atlanta.

The Sixers’ second-round opponent could potentially benefit from Embiid’s injury if it continues to bother him. And even if they don’t target his thumb, his hand will repeatedly get hit, grabbed, stuck in jerseys, and banged while trying to defend.

And the thumb won’t improve over the course of the playoffs if it is, in fact, a torn ligament.

In addition to confirming Embiid’s injury, the MRI will show how much the thumb is intact. If there’s no tear, it could be a sprain or an avulsion fracture.

A specialist would most likely recommend surgery if it is confirmed to be torn.

“I want to play,” Embiid said. “Obviously, I have to listen to what they have to say. So I would imagine that I keep playing and probably do something after the season.”

He had been dealing with an illness in Games 1 and 2 of the series. But that illness doesn’t compare to the pain he’s playing with now.

Embiid thinks he injured his thumb when his hand got caught in someone’s jersey during Game 3. There were the moments in Saturday’s game where he doubled over in pain or held his hand after bumping it. He was asked how serious the pain was in those moments.

“Africans don’t feel pain,” the Cameroonian said with the smile.