Speculation as to why Joel Embiid was sporting sun shades indoors and struggling to shut his left eye throughout Game 3 towards the Knicks was rampant.
But, longtime NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski shed some light on the mystery after the Sixers 125-114 win over the Knicks, by revealing that Embiid has been struggling with a situation known as Bell’s palsy.
The situation causes sudden weakening of the facial muscle tissues on one aspect of the face and may trigger individuals to have hassle closing their eye – which is what was occurring to Embiid on the court docket in Game 3.
Despite his well being points, the massive man surprised the Knicks by placing up 50 factors and getting the Sixers an necessary first win within the first-round sequence.
The Philly star spoke concerning the situation after the sport whereas sporting sun shades.
“I think it started a day or two before the Miami game,” Embiid mentioned, whereas including that he’d suffered migraines in addition to the muscle weaknesses.
“It’s pretty annoying,” Embiid mentioned. “My left side of my face, my mouth and my eye, so yeah, it’s been tough,” Embiid mentioned, “but I’m not a quitter, so I got to keep fighting through anything. It’s unfortunate, that’s the way I look at it. That’s not an excuse, I got to keep pushing.”
Symptoms often begin to enhance inside weeks, and most of the people with Bell’s palsy get well totally inside six months.
“With the conversations that I’ve had, it could be weeks, it could be months,” Embiid defined.
But he doesn’t need any sympathy.
“The one thing I’m not gonna do is give up,” Embiid said. “No matter what happens. Gotta keep pushing, gotta keep fighting. Gotta keep putting my body on the line for my family, for this city, for this team – I can’t just sit back and feel bad about myself.”
Since 2018 with the Sixers, Embiid hasn’t been in a position to make it previous the Conference Semifinals.
