Sixers Reverse Decision to Play Joel Embiid vs. Jazz on Monday Night

After being listed as questionable on the injury report due to back tightness ahead of Monday's game against the Utah Jazz, the Philadelphia 76ers intended to play their starting center, Joel Embiid. During his pregame press conference, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers admitted that he wasn't under the impression that Embiid was dealing with any setbacks.

Therefore, Rivers confirmed that Embiid was going to play on Monday night, barring any surprise setbacks. As it turns out, there is a bit of a surprise. Less than a half-hour before tip-off in Utah, the Sixers reversed course on their initial decision to play Embiid and ruled him out of the matchup.

As of now, it's unclear what happened. In the past, the Sixers would hold off on claiming whether the big man is ready to go or not until after he participated in the pregame shootaround. On Monday night, Rivers might've jumped the gun on claiming he'll have Embiid available since the All-Star center clearly didn't feel right after going through his routine warmups.

With Embiid out of the starting lineup against the Jazz, the Sixers are expected to start veteran forward Mike Scott, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

In the past, Rivers would typically roll with the obvious option in Dwight Howard. But after a few samples of Howard in the starting lineup, the Sixers head coach concluded that he prefers the veteran center to continue coming off the bench with the starting unit. That resulted in the 76ers starting Tony Bradley for a matchup.

While Bradley held his own for the most part, Rivers is going to try a small-ball lineup on Monday night by implementing Scott in the mix. 

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