Sixers: meniscus tear for Embiid

PHILADELPHIA >> The everexpanding description of Joel Embiid’s knee injury has added a disturbing layer: The 76ers center has a torn meniscus.

“It’s not thought to be an acute injury,” team president Bryan Colangelo said Saturday, before a 117-109 victory over the Miami Heat. “He’s being treated for a bone bruise.”

The Sixers have been treating Embiid for what they have called a bruised left knee since Jan. 20, when he was injured in a victory over Portland. Among their prescribed treatments has been rest. Saturday, he missed his ninth consecutive game and his 12th in the last 13.

Despite the Sixers’ acknowledgement of a tear that was revealed shortly after that Portland game, their treatment of the injury will not change.

“He’s going through all kinds of things,” Colangelo said. “I’m not a physiotherapist or the guy administering the training regimen. He’s going through everything that everyone in a situation like this would go through. I don’t want to downplay the significance of an injury, but he’s been in the pool, he’s been on the underwater treadmill, the hydroworks. He’s been on the court doing work. He’s been on the table getting treatment. He’s been in the weight room doing certain exercises.

“It’s a path, a progression toward a return to play. Without defining every moment of the day, he’s spending a lot of time. And we’re doing everything possible to make him healthy before he gets back out there.”

Recovering from foot surgery, Embiid missed all of his first two NBA seasons. But he returned this season and was playing at a Rookie of the Year pace before the knee injury. At a morning shootaround Saturday in Camden, Embiid told reporters gathered for among other reasons the dedication of a sculpture honoring Hal Greer, “I’m not healthy. It swells up a little bit, and then it kind of slows down. It’s all about patience. But I’m not healthy.”

As per NBA accessibility rules, that small briefing in the morning removed Embiid from any obligation to answer questions Saturday night. But he was seen with a strip of tape around his left knee as he walked toward the court during pregame warmups.

Though Colangelo finally revealed the tear, he made it clear: It is not necessarily a season-ending injury.

“A lot of players do play with minor tears,” Colangelo said. “Once again the injury is thought to be mostly about the bone bruise, and that’s what he’s being treated for.

“If the injury presents as asymptomatic, and he can show that he’s healthy and able to play basketball, there’s no reason he shouldn’t play. I don’t think there’s any potential longterm effects. This is not thought to be a severe injury. It’s thought to be a complicated injury because sometimes bone bruises take weeks to show their resolution, if you will. At the end of the day, once the injury is fully resolved, he’ll be back out on the court.

“Even some of the things he’s been doing in practice and training, it’s been quite encouraging, but we don’t think he’s ready right now.”

Jahlil Okafor did not play against the Heat. Brett Brown acknowledged that it was due to “trade rumors.”

The trade deadline is Feb. 23. Brown did not rule out keeping Okafor benched until the situation clears.

“In those situations, I felt it was best to not complicate things and not play Jahlil,” Brown said. “We talked before the game and I explained to him that this was going to happen for this reason.”

Okafor was not in the locker room after the game and the Sixers will not practice Sunday. They have a 3:30 p.m. charter to Charlotte. As of Saturday night, Okafor was still expected to make the trip.

Embiid was asked to join in Feb. 17-19 All-Star Weekend activities, including the Rising Stars Game.

Oddly, Colangelo resisted saying Embiid would be forbidden by the Sixers to participate.

“I would say,” he said, “that’s very unlikely.”

He did continue to maintain, however, that there would be benefits to Embiid’s participation.

“There’s advantages to everything,” Colangelo said. “If a player’s healthy, it’s the right thing to put him out there, so the fans here in Philadelphia can see him. But it’s also the right thing for him. He’s a competitive young man. He wants to be out there and play all the time. He wants to play through whatever the minutes restrictions were early in the year.”

Nerlens Noel was told about a half hour before the game that he would be starting and provided 19 points.

With Embiid out indefinitely and Okafor not likely to play at least until the trade deadline, he can expect to remain in the lineup.

“Whenever I am in there I make the best of my opportunities,” he said. “I thought I had a lot of opportunities tonight.”

NOTES >> Richaun Holmes, recovered from a respiratory illness, was cleared to play and scored six points in 16 minutes, 20 seconds … After a one-game hitch in the D-League, Chasson Randle was reactivated by the Sixers Saturday … The Sixers will play their last two games before the break on the road, in Charlotte Monday and in Boston Wednesday … The Heat’s 13-game winning streak was snapped. Brown: “I am really proud of our toughness.”