In a heated clash between the Denver Nuggets and the undermanned Philadelphia 76ers, Nuggets fans fueled the atmosphere with chants of “Where’s Embiid at?” as the home team secured a hard-fought 111-105 victory, led by Nikola Jokic’s impressive 26 points and 16 rebounds.
The focal point of the matchup, Joel Embiid, was conspicuously absent for the fourth consecutive season against the Nuggets, raising questions about his availability due to concerns about his balky left knee.
The anticipated showdown between MVP contenders Jokic and Embiid was thwarted when the Sixers made a game-time decision to scratch Embiid just minutes before tipoff, citing discomfort in his left knee during warmups.
Embiid, averaging 36 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, faced the challenge without key teammates as Tyrese Maxey (ankle), Tobias Harris (illness), and Mo Bamba (knee) were already ruled out before the game.
The history between Embiid and the Nuggets’ crowd includes previous taunts with “Missing Person” posters during an earlier absence, and the echoes of “Where’s Embiid at?” further intensified the charged atmosphere.
NBA insider Shams Charania reported that the league will conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Embiid’s late removal from the game roster.
“Joel Embiid did injure his knee the previous game, but he wasn’t on the team’s injury report the day before, wasn’t on the injury report all day. He didn’t enter the injury report, I’m told, until fifteen minutes before tip-off, and for sure that’s something that the league will have to review as Michael Malone said and as everybody in the league knows,” Charania said on FanDuelTV’s Run It Back. “The league will look into these situations, especially when it’s a last-second scratch like this when the player wasn’t on the injury report.”
