The 2023 NBA All-Star Game will be missing some big names, as three starters — Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Zion Williamson — all were ruled out for the game due to injuries, vaulting Anthony Edwards, De’Aaron Fox, and Pascal Siakam into draft pool for Sunday’s game.
Joel Embiid was among those moved into the starting lineups, but it’s possible that Adam Silver will need to make another late call-up, as the Sixers center detailed how he is not healthy right now following Philadelphia’s win over the Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
It’s a credit to Embiid that he’s been able to play through his foot injury and help the Sixers climb into third in the East, now two games up on Cleveland. It also should be noted that, in an era where load management and stars resting has become such a big point of frustration, the league should be pleased that Embiid is looking at the All-Star break as a chance to get rest and try to get healthy, rather than the middle of the regular season. While the NBA certainly won’t be thrilled if they have to make another replacement, the talent pool in the league is as deep as ever and there are still some players out there who were genuine snubs. If they have to take a little shine off of an exhibition contest (that still features plenty of the biggest names) in order to have stars playing in regular season games and making a point to be in the lineup each night, they should be thrilled at that trade off.
Hopefully Embiid can use the upcoming time off to get closer to 100 percent, as the Sixers have title aspirations that are dependent on the big man’s health.
