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Joel Embiid had the limelight trained on him even before he stepped on the court for Game 3 against the New York Knicks. He was caught on camera clearly distraught as the Philadelphia 76ers lost Game 2 via a controversial frenetic ending. Outside of that, “The Process” continuously has to face questions about how his surgically repaired right knee is holding up.
Before Game 3, the attention directed at him rose to a different level. Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the two-time MVP has been treated for a mild case of Bell’s Palsy. Considering what he has been battling through, Embiid is under the microscope now more than ever.
Joel Embiid refused to let the off-court issue affect him as a dropped a career playoff high of 50 points. Embiid's resilience paved the way for the 76ers first win in the series. After the game, Embiid responded to the report from the renowned NBA insider:
“It's been tough but I'm not a quitter...Pretty annoying.
It’s unfortunate. … Got to keep pushing.”
Joel Embiid confirmed that he started feeling migraines before the play-in tournament against the Miami Heat. He added that the left side of his face, including the mouth has been taking the brunt of the mild paralysis.
The US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines Bell's Palsy as a:
"Neurological disorder that causes paralysis or weakness on one side of the face. It occurs when one of the nerves that controls muscles in the face becomes injured or stops working properly."
In Game 2, a clip of Embiid not being able to blink his left eye became viral. Most fans thought that the painkillers for his surgically repaired right knee must be the reason for the weird scene.
The 76ers aren't going anywhere without Joel Embiid
The Philadelphia 76ers are unquestionably where they are right now because of Joel Embiid. Without him, they would have been almost certainly down a 0-3 hole with little hope of crawling out of the situation.
Playing through knee issues has been nothing new to Embiid. The situation now is quite different as he has never had this problem before. With both hounding him in the playoffs, he will have to raise his resilience and grit to another level to perform well.
The series is far from over. With the way the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers have been trading haymakers, this could extend to a seven-game series.
If Joel Embiid holds up, that might happen. If not, the Sixers aren't going anywhere without "The Process."
