Sixers’ Doc Rivers Expects Joel Embiid to Return vs. Lakers

Sixers center Joel Embiid could be back on the court by Wednesday.

On Monday night, the Philadelphia 76ers missed their starting center, Joel Embiid. After a strong stretch of games, which helped the Sixers’ big man earn the right to be called the Eastern Conference Player of the Week, Embiid got the night off on Monday against the Detroit Pistons.

Over the years, the Sixers have taken a cautious approach with Embiid in order to limit injuries and fatigue. Seeing as though he’s had his unfair share of bouts with setbacks since coming into the NBA, the 76ers tend to be overly-cautious.

Although this year the Sixers don’t seem to be giving Embiid any rest days, also known as ‘load management,’ they aren’t pushing him to play in games when he’s dealing with any sort of setback this early on in the season.

On Sunday night, the Sixers listed Joel Embiid as questionable on the injury report for Monday’s matchup against the Pistons. Per the Sixers, the big man was dealing with tightness in his back. Embiid’s back had nagged him before and caused him to miss three games this season. Against the Pistons, the situation is no different.

In the past, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers never panicked about Embiid’s back tightness. In fact, he typically plays the setback down and chalks it up to the Sixers being cautious. Before Monday night’s matchup, Rivers did just that.

“Yeah, [it’s a precautionary measure],” Rivers explained. “His back is stiff, and you know, obviously, we want to get through the season with everyone healthy. [Sitting him tonight] is the right thing to do.”

Based on Rivers’ statement, it seems Embiid has a good shot at returning to the court on Wednesday night when the Sixers take on the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time this year. Although he can’t say for sure, the head coach offered a promising thought.

“I expect [him to play on Wednesday],” Rivers said. “But I never know. I don’t know if anyone knows yet. We’ll wait and see.” Without Embiid on Monday night, the Sixers suffered a bad loss to the Pistons. After falling to Detroit 119-104, Philly moved on with a 12-6 overall record, but 0-4 in games without Embiid.

While there’s no guarantee the big man plays on Wednesday night, it seems the Sixers have been looking forward to the tough Lakers matchup for quite some time. And although Embiid missed Monday’s game, history would indicate the big man has a good chance of playing on Wednesday after getting three-straight days off.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_