Joel Embiid Could Miss Saturday's Matchup vs. Heat

The Philadelphia 76ers have a couple of new names on the injury report this weekend as they head into their second-straight matchup on Saturday night. After playing in Friday night’s game, Sixers guard Matisse Thybulle has been ruled out. However, their center Joel Embiid is now questionable as well.

Going into Friday night’s game against the Boston Celtics, the Sixers already had a couple of key rotational players out. For starters, the backup guard Shake Milton was ruled out for the fifth-straight game as he continues to battle through a back contusion. According to Doc Rivers, Milton’s return doesn’t seem to be coming anytime soon. 

In addition to Milton, the Sixers also ruled out the veteran forward Danny Green in advance. After Green suffered a hip injury during Wednesday night’s matchup against the Charlotte Hornets, he was cleared to return to action. After checking in for a couple of minutes, though, the Sixers shut him down for the rest of the game and ruled him out on Friday.

Milton and Green are out for Saturday’s matchup against the Miami Heat. Matisse Thybulle, who took a hard fall which resulted in shoulder soreness, will also miss Saturday’s game as he didn’t travel with the team on Friday night.

What About Embiid?

When the Sixers released their early injury report on Saturday afternoon, Embiid wasn’t present on it. Lately, the star center has been healthy and available for his team as he’s appeared in the last 13 games without any setbacks.

The streak could end on Saturday, though. As the Sixers updated their injury report, Embiid was listed as he’s dealing with elbow soreness. He’s now questionable to play in Saturday night’s game against the Heat.

Embiid will more than likely be a game-time decision on Saturday. If he can’t get the nod to play, the Sixers will probably roll with Andre Drummond in the starting lineup and have Charles Bassey back him up off the bench.

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