Joel Embiid Will Play In Game 1 Against The Atlanta Hawks

Joel Embiid missed the Sixers closeout Game 5 against the Washington Wizards last week with a small tear in his right meniscus suffered early in a Game 4 loss. That Embiid had structural damage to that knee was a serious concern and while he was listed as day-to-day, there was significant uncertainty about when he’d be able to return to play during Philly’s second round series against the Atlanta Hawks.

A half hour before tipoff on Sunday afternoon, the Sixers announced that their superstar big man will indeed be playing and return to the starting lineup, a welcome sight for Sixers fans who feared injuries had derailed another hopeful playoff run.

There is, of course, the lingering worry that Embiid could aggravate his knee injury, but that he’s starting Game 1 indicates that he has been feeling good moving on the knee lately and the training staff is pleased with where he’s at physically to let him out on the court. We’ll find out just how well Embiid can move very quickly, as you can be assured that the Hawks will put him in their beloved pick-and-roll action to have to deal with Trae Young and Clint Capela early and often. That said, if he is able to play like his normal self, he is about as strong a deterrent for that action as there is in the East, and will make life as difficult as possible on the Hawks’ pet play.

On the other side, the Hawks announced unfortunate news on their injury report, as De’Andre Hunter will not be able to play with right knee soreness, pushing Solomon Hill into the starting lineup alongside Young, Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and John Collins.

That will put a strain on the Hawks’ wing rotation, where Hunter had been sensational in the Knicks series particularly on defense where he is Atlanta’s best wing defender and was likely to spend time on both Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris. Without him, the Hawks will have to shuffle the deck a bit and the veteran Hill will get the call for his size and defensive abilities.