Joel Embiid's Practice Return Doesn't Guarantee Playing vs. Suns

Lately, the Philadelphia 76ers have been left with no choice but to play without their All-Star center Joel Embiid. Last Friday, Embiid missed his first matchup of the season as he was battling a sore knee. That setback wouldn’t keep him off the floor for long, as he was on the court the following night.

However, Embiid couldn’t get clearance in the first of two Washington Wizards matchups last Monday as the big man was battling the flu. After missing last Monday’s game, Embiid was ruled out for a second-straight game against the Wizards last Wednesday.

Then on Friday, he was questionable going into the matchup against the New York Knicks. While Embiid was present at the Wells Fargo Center and warmed up with the possibility of playing in mind, the big man was ultimately ruled out for a third-straight game.

With no Sixers practice on Saturday, the big man received an additional day of rest. On Sunday, Embiid was back at it, practicing and working on his conditioning afterward.

“We actually did some live stuff,” Doc Rivers explained after Sunday’s practice. “We had an off day yesterday. We were able to do a little bit of live, which I think we should do more. I’m trying to get our scientists to understand that. So we did it anyway today. It was great for him, and now he’s doing some extra running, so it was good.”

On the Sixers’ injury report, Philadelphia listed Embiid as questionable for Monday’s game against the Phoenix Suns. Typically, that means a player’s status is 50/50 for the matchup. In Rivers’ eyes, Embiid has around a 75 percent chance of facing Phoenix on Monday as the star center looked good despite battling back from the flu.

It goes without saying the Sixers could certainly use Embiid back in the mix. Although they played well enough to win without him in Washington last week, the Wizards got their payback and ran through their Wednesday night matchup with Kristaps Porzingis, who feasted in the paint without Embiid around to give him a challenge.

Then when the Sixers faced the Knicks on Friday, neither Embiid nor James Harden was on the floor. While Tyrese Maxey and the Sixers kept it close and took the game down to the wire, the Sixers came up short and collected their second-straight loss.

The Sixers are set to face the Suns at home on Monday. Joel Embiid will likely be considered a game-time decision as he remains questionable going into the game.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.