Okafor leaves game early with continuing knee issue
PHILADELPHIA >> Jahlil Okafor, bothered by a right knee injury for more than a year, had to be removed early from the Sixers’ 105-99 victory Sunday over the Boston Celtics.
Despite starting, Okafor lasted just 1:32, settled for four points and one rebound, and by halftime was declared out for the remainder of the game. He was seen leaving the Sixers’ locker room through a back door shortly after the game.
“He was sore,” Brett Brown said. “We knew that going into the game. We judged it. No player likes to come to a head coach and say, ‘I can’t go tonight. I’m struggling.’ And he didn’t say that. I reminded him that we are not playing in the Eastern Conference championship this year. I said, ‘If you are hurting, we will sit you. It’s OK.’ Because we have so many games coming up, that was my call more than anybody’s. So we just decided to sit him.”
Brown was uncertain whether Okafor would be available Monday night in Orlando. The center was on the team bus, which left shortly after the game for the airport.
With Okafor missing for most of the game, Richaun Holmes played 29:29, providing eight points and seven rebounds. Shawn Long scored eight points in 6:31 as the Sixers won for the third time in four games.
“It’s a great win,” Holmes said. “It’s a top team in the East. And for us to band together and get a win like that was important. We have to build on it and try to string some wins together for the rest of the season.”
*** The issue of star players taking games off, an epidemic of late in the NBA, is relevant to the Sixers. For the last five years, they have sat out a star-level player (Andrew Bynum, Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, Embiid again, and this year Ben Simmons) for an entire season.
“This is my 16th year in the NBA,” Brett Brown said. “And this is the evolution of our league.”
On at least one level, Brown could be blamed for starting the trend. That’s because it was once his assignment in 2012, as an assistant to Gregg Popovich with the Spurs, to whisk unavailable players trip.
For that maneuver, the NBA fined the Spurs $250,000.
“We were in Miami, and it was my job to escort (Tim) Duncan, (Manu) Ginobili, (Tony) Parker, Danny Green and Kawhi (Leonard) back to San Antonio and not play in Miami. We played in Orlando, the charter plane had a problem. I went to a commercial airport with those five highprofile people and navigated through turnstiles and lines and all that to go back and not play. Because we felt they were injured. They were not healthy. And the league spoke. And all over the place, you understand kind of the whole situation. You get both sides of the argument.
“I empathize with the fans. I understand both sides of it. That’s the most simplistic answer I can give.”
*** There is no timetable … for a timetable.
That essentially was the medical report on Embiid shot out by the Sixers Sunday.
Out for the season with a knee injury, Embiid has returned from California, where he was examined by home from a road specialists. No decision has been made on further action, which theoretically could include surgery to repair a torn left meniscus.
“He did go see some doctors and specialists when he was in California,” Sixers spokesman Michael Preston said. “That information is currently being reviewed by the team and our medical team. And of course his representatives are involved in this as well. There is no timetable for a decision as of yet. But we are still reviewing information related to next steps.”
*** While their season goals are dwindling, the Sixers still have a deep involvement in the Rookie of the Year race. For that, there was interest Sunday in the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown.
The rookie forward from the University of California was averaging 6.5 points, but has become a key contributor for a division leader and has impressed with his 45.2-percent shooting.
So into the mix he has fallen, if still well behind presumptive leaders Embiid and Dario Saric.
“I don’t pay attention to it,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “Jaylen has been good for us. Saric has been excellent for them. Embiid was excellent when he was playing for them.
“If one of the two guys in Philly gets it, they deserve it. They are both very good players. And they have had big impacts on their team. If Jaylen gets into the picture and get it, then he will have earned it. But ultimately there is still an eighth of the season left. So we’ll see.”
Brown didn’t mount a vigorous campaign Sunday, settling for two points on 1-for-6 shooting in 12:28.
*** NOTES >> Justin Anderson was unavailable Sunday with gastroenteritis, the Sixers said. He already has been listed as “doubtful” for the game in Orlando. … Gerald Henderson hit the pregame injury report with continuing hip issues, but played 16:45 and scored nine points. … Tiago Splitter (calf) remains unavailable. … Robert Covington had 16 points on 7-for-15 shooting. “This game was very satisfying,” he said. “Overall, many guys made contributions. That’s what made it that much more satisfying.”