How do you prepare for a reigning league Most Valuable Player recently returned from knee surgery?
You treat him like the MVP — then figure out the rest later.
The Philadelphia 76ers won Wednesday night’s Seven-Eight Game over the Miami Heat and earned the right to face the No. 2 Knicks in the first round of the playoffs.
Which means the Knicks have to prepare for one of the NBA’s most dominant players: Joel Embiid, who won the MVP award last season and had his 2023-24 campaign derailed by a meniscus injury.
Embiid underwent surgery in early February to repair the lateral meniscus in his left knee, then returned to play in five of Philadelphia’s final seven regular-season games. He sat the second leg of a back-to-back and rested the Sixers’ season finale against the San Antonio Spurs.
And then he came up big for Philadelphia in a come-from-behind victory over the Heat on Wednesday with 23 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and a pair of threes.
Embiid did his damage while clearly limited by his knee, but with two more days for the Team USA-bound center to recover before Game 1 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, the Knicks are treating the All-NBA big man like he’s at full strength.
Treating him as anything less would be a recipe for an early first-round playoff exit.
“It’s the playoffs, so you’re not dealing with the back-to-backs and that sort of thing,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said after practice in Tarrytown on Thursday. “So we’re anticipating him to be who he is.”
Embiid’s final five regular-season games paint a clear picture of a player who found his rhythm ramping up for a playoff run.
He scored 24 points in 29 minutes in his first game back from surgery on April 2, leading the Sixers to victory over the West’s No. 1-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. He then scored 29 points in 33 minutes in a victory over the Heat two days later, and finished the regular season with three straight games of 30 or more against the Memphis Grizzlies, Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic.
Embiid made at least two threes in four of those five games following his injury return. He shot 48% from deep post surgery, then shot two-of-four from downtown in Wednesday’s Play-In win over the Heat.
The Sixers star finished the season averaging 34.7 points, 11 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.2 steals on 53% shooting from the field and a career-high 38.8% shooting from three-point range. His numbers over his final five regular-season games are about in line with his season averages, give or take a rebound here or a bucket there.
“You prepare for MVP Joel. You kinda see he’s going through stuff but at the end of the day, it’s kind of what makes athletes special: We can get through a lot,” said starting Knicks center Isaiah Hartentstein. “I think even if you watched [Heat star] Jimmy Butler last night, for him to keep on playing, you always gotta be prepared for anything, especially the athletes in the NBA who can go through a lot of pain and still play,” the center added on the Heat star continuing to play Wednesday’s game after suffering a knee injury.
“We’re ready for whatever. We’re prepared, and it’s just gonna be a team effort with Joel.”
The Knicks only played Embiid once this season. He finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, but the Knicks turned Embiid over six times and pummeled the 76ers by 36.
Hartenstein will be the first line of defense against the Sixers’ all-world big man, but it’ll be a team effort, regardless of whether or not Embiid is 100% on the floor.
“Just making him uncomfortable, at the end of the day, I think we do a good job of showing a shell, so a lot of guys kind of loaded up,” Hartenstein said. “The main thing is he’s gonna seek fouls. So that’s the main thing, through fouls he’ll get his little breaks, easy free throws. So that’s probably the main focus and go from there.”
