WHY IS JOEL EMBIID PHILADELPHIA 76ERS STAR WEARING A MASK IN TONIGHTS PHILADELPHIA 76ERS GAME.
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is wearing a mask in the NBA Playoffs match against the Miami Heat, but why is this the case?
The NBA Conference semi-finals have started badly for the Philadelphia 76ers, losing the first two matches to the Miami Heat.
For game three in the best of seven series, the 76ers are playing host as the Heat hit the road.
This was without MVP front-runner Joel Embiid, who was injured in the final game of the first Playoff round against the Toronto Raptors.
Embiid has returned for the 76ers vs the Heat in game three, but why is he wearing a mask?
WHY JOEL EMBIID IS WEARING A MASK
In game six vs the Raptors, Embiid suffered an injury when being tackled by Pascal Siakim.
Siakim elbowed Embiid in the face when defending the basket, causing a nasty eye and facial injury.
Embiid suffered an orbital fracture and also a concussion in the incident, benching him for games one and two vs the Heat in the Eastern semi-finals.
As Joel Embiid made his return to the court in game three, he was sporting a mask to protect his eye from further damage.
IS HE PLAYING VS THE HEAT?
While coach Doc Rivers confirmed Joel Embiid would play with his protective mask, it is a limited appearance.
Rivers said that because Embiid had not been able to train fully, lacking conditioning, it would be a limited spell on the court.
Embiid was in the starting line-up for the 76ers, who won the first-quarter 21-17, with centre Embiid scoring seven of those points.
