5 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

He doesn't have 5 days.  The game is tomorrow. To important to miss. 

You would know better then any of us. Still a bit surprised you don't think it will make a difference if he rest enough that he isn't favoring it. I guess I'm only thinking about the KD and the AD issues and worrying about that. 

Quote

Q&A: Local medical expert explains Joel Embiid's meniscus injury and path forward

Kyle Neubeck

6-8 minutes

---

Joel Embiid's partially torn meniscus is the talk of the town at the moment, with everyone attempting to guess what the injury means for the big guy and the Sixers as they attempt to chase a title. Following the Sixers over the years has required having at least some understanding of most major athlete injuries, ranging from food allergies to shoulder issues.

Instead of pretending to be doctors ourselves, we put in a call to Dr. Mark Pollard at the Cooper University Health Care Bone and Joint Institute. Dr. Pollard specializes in the management and treatment of knee ligament and cartilage injuries, knee arthritis, shoulder instability, shoulder tendon problems, and other muscle and tendon problems of the arms and legs (biceps, triceps, patellar and quadriceps tendon, and Achilles tendon). He has covered high school, collegiate and professional sports teams in his line of work.

Here's what an actual expert had to say about the type of injury suffered by the Sixers star... 

PhillyVoice: What purpose does the lateral meniscus serve in the knee, and how does an injury to the lateral meniscus impact the area overall?

Dr. Mark Pollard: To begin with, each knee has two menisci, a medial meniscus, and a lateral meniscus, and both of them generally function as shock absorbers and stabilizers. We think their main function is actually absorbing force as you're bearing weight on the knee. The femur is your thigh bone, and the tibia is the shinbone, and force has to be transmitted across the joint. And so at the joint, you have cartilage at the end of the bones. But also you have these menisci, which, if you're mechanically inclined, they kind of look like bushings. They move a little bit along with the knee to allow them to better distribute the force. And, as I said earlier, they also serve to stabilize things beyond what the ligaments do.

So for an athlete, in practical terms, it's primarily there to absorb.

Yeah, just any force of weight-bearing, even walking on it or running, those kinds of forces going through the joint. The meniscus helps absorb that so that the cartilage on the end of the bones don't have to bear all that force. In the long run, if that cartilage on the end of the bones, it's called articular cartilage, if that ends up bearing too much of the force, like if the meniscus is removed, a lot of time arthritis develops rather quickly, and that cartilage on the end of the bones wears away. So the meniscus is pretty important in preserving the long term and allowing good function.

In their updates on the injury, the Sixers have referred to this as a "small" tear. Does this mean anything in a practical sense, or is a tear a tear regardless of the size?

Yes, there's kind of a world of difference here, no two tears are the same. You could have what is in essence a very tiny, small tear, where just a couple of millimeters are involved. In which case, it doesn't involve a whole lot of the meniscus and it's not a real structural problem, so the end result may be minimal. Whereas if you had a larger tear, you can have a tear that goes all the way through the meniscus and actually renders it incompetent. And that can be devastating to a knee, necessitating surgery, and sometimes in some cases, it could be actually career-ending to high-end athletes.

Got it. Assuming that a small tear is something an athlete maybe tries to play through or play with in some form, after this is discovered by doctors, is there a point where this can be deemed "safe" to play without a procedure? Is it as simple as pain and symptom management, or is there more to it than that?

It's a little bit of a slippery question. But if the tear doesn't involve, for example, an unstable flap — a piece of the meniscus that can actually flip and get stuck in the wrong spot — and if it's in a location that's unlikely to propagate and get bigger, then it's possible to go on without actually doing anything for it. There's probably many athletes who have some small meniscus tears and don't even know it because they're not very symptomatic. And if they get an MRI of their knee for some other reason, then they're discovered that way.

So can this self-correct? My layman's understanding of the meniscus is that there are two approaches to addressing the problem in the event of a procedure, shorthanded to "repair or remove." Is that accurate, and what are the pros and cons if it's necessary to go that way?

You're right, if you're going to do a procedure on the meniscus, it's either going to be a meniscus repair, where you're trying to stitch it back together, or a partial meniscectomy where you remove the torn piece. And if you were to choose long-term function, it's better to do the repair, you're better off trying to retain as much meniscus tissue as you can. In the long run, unfortunately, a lot of the patterns of tears don't really make themselves amenable, it's not really possible to repair them, because they won't heal. The meniscus doesn't have a really great blood supply, so it doesn't have a great healing capacity. It's a fairly narrow spectrum of meniscus injuries that lends themselves to being repaired. 

However, the repair, it's a longer surgery, the recovery takes a lot longer, but long-term function is typically better with that, as opposed to the meniscectomy procedure, where you "nibble" the meniscus tissue out, which is typically a quicker surgery, a much quicker recovery to get back to activities, but it increases the possibility of some problems developing down the road.

Most of the time for a meniscus repair, for the stitching, recovery is usually three to six months or something like that. Whereas the partial meniscectomy, they're removing the meniscus tissue, and you remove as little as possible obviously, but for that kind of a procedure, you're pretty much walking on it right away. And, you know, full activities, somewhere between three to six weeks afterward, in most cases.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/joel-embiid-torn-meniscus-injury-expert-doctor-medical-analysis-return-path-forward/

16 minutes ago, Bwestbrook36 said:

You would know better then any of us. Still a bit surprised you don't think it will make a difference if he rest enough that he isn't favoring it. I guess I'm only thinking about the KD and the AD issues and worrying about that. 

Its torn now. Its still going to be torn in 5 more days. This is a matter of pain tolerance. Not healing. If he feels good enough to play, you need him out there ASAP. You dont have the luxury of waiting 5 days when Atlanta is extremely capable, maybe even likely to beat us in game 1. You cant spot them a 1 game lead in this series. 

There was a time when I said Schroder is overrated, and comes up very small in playoffs. Someone argued with me. Well, he did it again. Magic Johnson doesnt want him to be back with the Lakers next year. 

 

Speaking of the Lakers, Danny Green, Dwight Howard, McGee, and Rondo were all let go. Now they are all still in the playoffs while LA made its first round exit. Letting those 4 go, and bringing in Schroder. Horrible offseason. Whoever did that should be fired and let Magic come back. 

 

16 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

There was a time when I said Schroder is overrated, and comes up very small in playoffs. Someone argued with me. Well, he did it again. Magic Johnson doesnt want him to be back with the Lakers next year. 

 

Speaking of the Lakers, Danny Green, Dwight Howard, McGee, and Rondo were all let go. Now they are all still in the playoffs while LA made its first round exit. Letting those 4 go, and bringing in Schroder. Horrible offseason. Whoever did that should be fired and let Magic come back. 

 

Magic doesn't want to come back they used him to get LeBron then went with Kobe's agent. Palinka is ok but, even I was fooled into Schroeder and his abilities. He wants absolutely nothing to do with being a leader and shrinks in the playoffs big time. 

1 minute ago, Bwestbrook36 said:

Magic doesn't want to come back they used him to get LeBron then went with Kobe's agent. Palinka is ok but, even I was fooled into Schroeder and his abilities. He wants absolutely nothing to do with being a leader and shrinks in the playoffs big time. 

the only way I would take Schroder here is as a scoring guard off the bench. I think he would upgrade Milton even if they both shrink in the playoffs. But I dont think there is any possible way to make that salary work. 

Other than that, Im out on Schroder. He stinks.

 

Also, Mikal Bridges wants a max contract. wtf?

3 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

the only way I would take Schroder here is as a scoring guard off the bench. I think he would upgrade Milton even if they both shrink in the playoffs. But I dont think there is any possible way to make that salary work. 

Other than that, Im out on Schroder. He stinks.

 

Also, Mikal Bridges wants a max contract. wtf?

I think Lakers like some others thought shroder matured past just being a bench piece. Lakers even offered him 84 million on an extension but, he turned it down thinking he was worth more. Well now they know he isn't worth sheet as a starter so he screwed himself lol. 

 

Yeah Bridges is no way a max! Lol

Harden reinjured his hamstring. I’ll probably be wrong, again, but I’ll bet they hold Embiid out another game.

6 hours ago, HazletonEagle said:

the only way I would take Schroder here is as a scoring guard off the bench. I think he would upgrade Milton even if they both shrink in the playoffs. But I dont think there is any possible way to make that salary work. 

Other than that, Im out on Schroder. He stinks.

 

Also, Mikal Bridges wants a max contract. wtf?

Where do you see Bridges news? How much is his max? 

I would pay him 20 a year. 

42.5% on 4.5 attempts, a good FT shooter at 84%, really good defender. Might make 2nd team all defensive team and only 24.

He should get around what Grant got from the Pistons last year. 

9 minutes ago, DaEagles4Life said:

Where do you see Bridges news? How much is his max? 

I would pay him 20 a year. 

42.5% on 4.5 attempts, a good FT shooter at 84%, really good defender. Might make 2nd team all defensive team and only 24.

He should get around what Grant got from the Pistons last year. 

Been rumors out here he’s gonna ask for that. I think he’s gonna get at least 20 mil a year from someone if they don’t. Frankly they have to re-sign Paul when he opts out. AYton is eligible for an extension likely asks for a max. I’m curious to see what sarver does. He’s notoriously cheap. It’s why they traded rondo when they drafted him for cash and didn’t re-sign joe Johnson in the Nash days. 

11 minutes ago, DaEagles4Life said:

Where do you see Bridges news? How much is his max? 

I would pay him 20 a year. 

42.5% on 4.5 attempts, a good FT shooter at 84%, really good defender. Might make 2nd team all defensive team and only 24.

He should get around what Grant got from the Pistons last year. 

Good thing we traded him away...

8 minutes ago, ToastJenkins said:

Good thing we traded him away...

Fing idiots, that is the worst one in my opinion and just sign Jimmy. Let him walk 

10 minutes ago, DaEagles4Life said:

Fing idiots, that is the worst one in my opinion and just sign Jimmy. Let him walk 

I’d the fultz one is pretty bad too considering the Celtics wanted Tatum anyway. And what you gave up to get him especially after they saw his workout was really bad and half the people in the building didn’t want fultz.

Bridges was bad. there’s been rumors they drafted zhaire because they were going to flip him to the Spurs in a deal for kawhi. The thing with the bridges deal, I’m not sure without that unprotected Miami first they get in that deal they acquire tobias Harris. That pick was sought after because at that point there was belief miami could be a lottery team when it conveyed. With fultz you gave up capital and he stunk and got literally nothing for him when you did deal him to Orlando. 

7 minutes ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

I’d the fultz one is pretty bad too considering the Celtics wanted Tatum anyway. And what you gave up to get him especially after they saw his workout was really bad and half the people in the building didn’t want fultz.

Bridges was bad. there’s been rumors they drafted zhaire because they were going to flip him to the Spurs in a deal for kawhi. The thing with the bridges deal, I’m not sure without that unprotected Miami first they get in that deal they acquire tobias Harris. That pick was sought after because at that point there was belief miami could be a lottery team when it conveyed. With fultz you gave up capital and he stunk and got literally nothing for him when you did deal him to Orlando. 

I am really high on Bridges so no Tobias would have been fine. 

I still don't understand giving him up for nothing. Send him to the G league for a year 

Man if Harden can miss a few games this series we are gonna get the bucks in the ECF. We will beat them. We gotta win this Hawks series. Please be good Joel...

3 hours ago, DaEagles4Life said:

I am really high on Bridges so no Tobias would have been fine. 

I still don't understand giving him up for nothing. Send him to the G league for a year 

Only thing they got from fultz was the cap space. That’s what they wanted to make a splash in FA that offseason. Sadly they used that cap money on al Horford who was a mistake. 

Just now, HazletonEagle said:

Man if Harden can miss a few games this series we are gonna get the bucks in the ECF. We will beat them. We gotta win this Hawks series. Please be good Joel...

Not so sure the bucks even beat the nets even without harden. They are currently getting smoked by 16 and harden played for all of 43 seconds of game 1. 

2 minutes ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

Not so sure the bucks even beat the nets even without harden. They are currently getting smoked by 16 and harden played for all of 43 seconds of game 1. 

oh man I forgot that was even on. I was at family day for my sons little league. Just got home.

Well, whatever then. We will beat a weakened Nets team too.

https://twitter.com/therealmikekb/status/1400318825917202433?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1400318825917202433|twgr^|twcon^s1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fheavy.com%2Fsports%2Fphiladelphia-76ers%2Ftobias-harris-expanded-role%2F

 

That didn't work

1 hour ago, HazletonEagle said:

https://twitter.com/therealmikekb/status/1400318825917202433?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1400318825917202433|twgr^|twcon^s1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fheavy.com%2Fsports%2Fphiladelphia-76ers%2Ftobias-harris-expanded-role%2F

 

That didn't work

👍

Honestly I wouldn’t start Embiid today

1 hour ago, GroundAttack said:

Honestly I wouldn’t start Embiid today

If he’s healthy enough to play, you play him. This isn’t the regular season. It’s a 7 game series. You don’t run the risk of spotting the other team 1 game because you want to protect your best player.

When do we hear if Joel is a go?

20 minutes ago, Khani1 said:

When do we hear if Joel is a go?

Towards the end of the 4th quarter.  Make of this what you will:

PHILADELPHIA -- — Dwight Howard gushed over his first year in Philly, a train-of-thought review on his favorite cheesesteak spot and the dairy dessert the Sixers give away at home games, and he even hummed a few bars to the team's theme song.

Fun!

But when the topic turned to Joel Embiid, Howard's belief that the injured big man can play in Game 1 of Philadelphia's second-round playoff series against Atlanta brought the laughter to a halt.
 

"He should be ready to go," Howard said.

Wait a minute, is the backup center — and one of the top rebounders in NBA history — really breaking news on Embiid's status for Sunday's game against the Hawks.

Pressed for the scoop that Embiid actually will play, Howard suddenly backtracked on his breaking news update.

"Oh, nooooooo, you didn't hear me say that one," Howard said. "I expect him to be great when he plays. That's all."

He’s playing!