Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers said superstar center Joel Embiid is still doubtful for Game 2 of Philadelphia’s series against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night because of the LCL sprain in his right knee. Although Embiid worked out Tuesday afternoon, Rivers made it clear that the decision to play or not will be health-based. If he can’t play, he can’t, regardless of the success the team had in Game 1 of the series.
Rivers admitted that his rotations might have to shift to accommodate Embiid getting tired after nearly two weeks sidelined with the injury. The coach also said he thought his team was exhausted at the beginning of Game 1, despite having a week off, due to not playing playoff basketball for a week. Rivers stated that Embiid had done some work in the pool, but admitted it isn’t the same as basketball conditioning.
Whether Embiid is able to play or not, Philadelphia got what it wanted out of the opening two games of the series: at least one win and getting home-court advantage back on the 76ers’ side as a result. Rivers, however, said his team should be greedy and needs to have the same level of desperation it had in Game 1 when it takes the court again for Game 2. The coach noted that he expects the Celtics to play great and his team needs to be ready and believe they’re going to play better.
