The Philadelphia 76ers are going head-to-head against the Golden State Warriors tonight. And the Sixers fans were ecstatic to see Joel Embiid back in the lineup after missing two straight games due to a knee injury. However, their happiness soon turned into horror as the reigning MVP suffered a massive injury scare early in the game.

In a heated play during the 2nd quarter, Joel Embiid dove for a loose ball to regain possession. Unfortunately, Warriors Center Draymond Green also dove for the ball and collided with the Sixers superstar. Draymond’s elbow hit Embiid in the head, and both players fell to the floor. Sixers fans breathed a sigh of relief as Embiid remained in the game to finish the half. However, he seemed shaken up after the wild collision. Embiid scored 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists in the first half. But his team trailed the Warriors by 2 points at halftime.

Had Joel Embiid been hurt enough to leave the game, it could have also put his MVP season in jeopardy. Embiid has already missed 12 of the 45 Sixers games this season. According to the latest NBA rule, a player will only be eligible for regular season awards if he plays at least 20 minutes in 65 or more games. So, Joel can only miss a maximum of 5 more games this season to remain in contention to win the MVP trophy. He had not completed his set 20 minutes of play in tonight’s game before his collision with Draymond.

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Will injuries ruin Joel Embiid’s historic season?

Joel Embiid has been the frontrunner to win the MVP trophy this season. He is leading the league in scoring with 36 points per game. Embiid is also averaging 11.4 rebounds and a career-high 5.8 assists. He has led the Philadelphia 76ers to the 4th spot in the Eastern Conference standings with a 29-16 record. Every stat suggests that Embiid will become back-to-back MVP this year. However, the only thing that can stop him from matching Giannis and Jokic’s MVP trophy tally is injury.

Embiid still has 36 more games to play this season. If he gets hurt in the remainder of the season and misses more than 5 games, his dreams of becoming a back-to-back MVP will be shattered due to a technicality. Joel Embiid will have to stay very careful for the rest of the season. After the collision with Draymond, Embiid looked like he was struggling to get up and down the floor. That could cause him to miss more games going forward. It is possible that the last-minute decision of sitting him out for the Denver Nuggets game on Saturday could come back to haunt him in his final game tally.

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