Is Joel Embiid playing tonight against the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2 of the 2021 NBA Playoffs Round 2?

NBA MVP contender Joel Embiid is being evaluated on a day-to-day basis despite a fruitful game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks. The Philadelphia 76ers had an underwhelming start to their NBA playoffs series against the Atlanta Hawks.

After a disastrous start to the match, they were trailing by 24 points at the end of the third quarter and lost 128-124 despite a late fightback. Joel Embiid produced 39 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and as fans might know, is struggling with a small right lateral meniscus tear. Considering his overall performances this season, the Philadelphia 76ers’ title charge rests on Embiid’s shoulders, or for the time being his injured knee. In this article, we look at whether he will be playing against the Hawks in game 2 later tonight.

𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐈 | 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐈𝐈🕙 7:30PM ET📺 @NBAonTNT📻 @975TheFanatic🎧 https://t.co/yqP1xPiryo🎟 https://t.co/zF6ZvQjV0h#PhilaUnite | pres. by @DKSportsbook pic.twitter.com/SJTGwUz6AO

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2021 NBA Playoffs: Is Joel Embiid playing tonight against the Atlanta Hawks in game 2?

Philadelphia 76ers’ coach Doc Rivers had a positive take before game 2 on Joel Embiid’s injury despite claiming that they are “not out of the woods just as yet.”

“I don’t think we’re out of the woods, I’ll put it that way. I think after each game he’s going to be evaluated for a while. Now, I don’t know how long that lasts. That may be three, four, five games. But we’re still not out of the woods. He looked pretty good. Obviously we didn’t do much today but just my observation, not being a real medical doctor, is that he looked pretty good. We were happy with everything.”

Joel Embiid is critical for the Philadelphia 76ers' title charge.

After the match, Rivers informed reporters that Embiid was feeling good during the game despite the staff wanting him to “stand back.”

“I checked with him probably five different times during the game,” Rivers said, “and he kept saying, ‘I feel great.’ I didn’t like him in — we had to have him in — when we were trapping and running around in that last three minutes. And obviously we made a run. I did not like him on the floor at that point, because I didn’t want him doing those things, if you want me to be honest. That’s why we just told him to stand back, because those are the ones you get injured on. Other than that, I thought he played in a space where he was safe, other than that last three minutes.”

Hence, while Joel Embiid is being evaluated on a day-to-day basis, he is expected to play in game 2 against the Atlanta Hawks. The Philadelphia 76ers hugely struggled on defense in the first half, with Trae Young registering 25 points and seven assists. Joel Embiid did not look at his best and was shooting at slightly above 41% in the first half.

Tough, @JoelEmbiid. pic.twitter.com/WXvpb3ZPBG

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) June 6, 2021

Before the match, Embiid suggested that he plans to engage in “icing and lifting” to get rid of the swelling, and claimed that he doesn’t need to be limited afterwards:

"You can’t worry about how many minutes someone is supposed to play or is going to play. You’ve got to go with your best guys. As long as I’m OK to be out there, I’m going to give my best and I’m going to keep pushing until I can’t. As long as I’m out there, I’m going to play hard and I’m going to dive for loose balls. I’m going to do whatever it takes to win.”

So despite currently struggling through an injury, Joel Embiid is expected to play tonight against the Atlanta Hawks in game 2.