Embiid honest about his return: “I sped up the timeline… now I’m paying the price”

Just over a week after undergoing appendicitis surgery, Joel Embiid returned to the floor. The Philadelphia 76ers dropped Game 4 against the Boston Celtics, falling behind 3-1 and facing elimination despite Embiid’s 26-point, 10-rebound double-double.

Clearly fatigued even during warmups, it was evident from the start that the Sixers’ center had sped up his recovery timeline by about a week (this type of procedure usually requires around 23 days) in order to be available for the NBA Playoffs.

But unfortunately for Philadelphia, there seems to be no answer for these Celtics: in the third quarter, Boston stretched the lead to as many as 32 points, highlighting a completely one-sided game. After the loss, Embiid spoke about his physical condition without going into too much detail.

I mean, when it all started, I couldn’t even walk going into the hospital. I had to deal with some complications from the surgery. I’m adjusting and dealing with it – I don’t want to go into details, but it’s been tough to handle all of this

Joel Embiid

He then elaborated on his decision to return for the playoffs:

When it happens, you look at it like this: ‘OK, the playoffs are here.’ You feel good at the start of the postseason and then, all of a sudden, this happens – something you can’t control. What am I supposed to do? Sit there and cry? You just have to deal with it, move forward, and try to do the best job you can to give yourself a chance to get back out there

Joel Embiid

What went wrong in Game 4

In playoff history, only 13 teams have ever come back from a 3-1 deficit in a series (excluding the NBA Finals). That doesn’t seem to be the case for the Sixers, where even a banged-up Embiid looked like the best player on the floor.

Philadelphia has several structural issues, including its defense against the three-point shot – something it had managed to mask during the regular season.

They really believe in their philosophy: taking a lot of threes and trusting they’ll make enough to win every game. Their offensive rebounds hurt us – actually, they hurt us a lot

Joel Embiid

Too few – and poorly executed – closeouts, along with Boston’s 24-of-53 shooting from beyond the arc, were decisive factors in Game 4.

Since long rebounds come from three-point shots, I feel like we kept collapsing into the paint when we should’ve been getting to our man and boxing out before even watching the ball. That’s an adjustment we need to make

Joel Embiid

Deficiencies that, as promised by Embiid, the Sixers will try to address at TD Garden, in what could be their final game of the season.