Joel Embiid was chastised for avoiding Nikola Jokic when he was a late scratch against Denver. Now, his club faces sanctions from the NBA.
Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone complained after his team’s 111-105 victory on Saturday that Embiid was withdrawn from the starting lineup minutes before tip-off, despite the fact that the star was not listed on the injury report.
“I don’t know how you go from being active, available to being out,” Malone told reporters. “I’m confident the league will conduct their due diligence because that is frowned upon. This year, we have spoken with the league in several instances. They informed us that if a player changes from active to inactive status, an investigation will be conducted.
Embiid looked to sustain a knee injury in a loss to the Indiana Pacers on January 25, despite playing 31 minutes. He remained on the floor with Indiana up 26 points late in the third quarter, exiting after scoring 31 points (and maintaining his streak of 22 straight games of 30 points or more).
The reigning MVP also missed Philly’s 130-104 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, the 76ers’ third consecutive setback. He is listed as “questionable” for Tuesday’s game against Golden State.
The true infraction is Philadelphia’s refusal to include Embiid on the injury report, which will most certainly result in a fine. However, because Embiid has a propensity for avoiding difficult road games, particularly in Denver, it appears that he will struggle. The alleged stat-chasing versus the Pacers doesn’t look good.
This also jeopardizes his chances of repeating as MVP. A player can miss no more than 17 games before being considered for an award. To be considered for MVP, Embiid must now play 32 of his team’s remaining 37 games.
Philadelphia might have avoided controversy and a large fine by just entering his name on the injury report. A simple injury has now escalated into a controversy.
