76ers: Joel Embiid, James Harden's Shootaround Status on Friday

Ahead of their Friday night matchup against the Golden State Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers held a morning shootaround out West. Going into the matchup, the Sixers have several players on the injury report, including the stars James Harden and Joel Embiid.

Lately, Harden’s been bothered by Achilles soreness. Although he missed a matchup last Saturday due to injury management regarding his foot, Harden seemed to have aggravated his Achilles during Monday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls.

After the game, Doc Rivers mentioned that Harden was hurting. The following game, Harden was listed on the injury report as questionable. Eventually, the star guard was ruled out for Wednesday’s rematch against the Bulls.

As for Joel Embiid, he played in Wednesday’s game. Checking in for 16 minutes, all was going well for the big man as the Sixers were amid a blowout against the Bulls. However, Embiid’s absence during the second half was quite concerning.

While the Sixers’ significant double-digit lead was the reason Embiid reportedly did not return at all in the second half, the Sixers revealed that Embiid battled calf tightness in the first half. As a result, he’s questionable for Friday’s game as well.

The good news is that Embiid participated in shootaround on Friday. The unfortunate news is that Harden did not.

Joel Embiid (calf) participated in this morning’s shootaround. James Harden (Achilles) did not. #Sixers
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) March 24, 2023

Following Wednesday’s game, Embiid hinted that he should be able to play on Friday. So far, it seems he’s on the right track to return.

As for Harden, his status is more unclear. Doc Rivers said that he expects the guard to be back on Friday, but he couldn’t be sure. The fact that Harden didn’t participate in shootaround is not a positive sign for the Sixers.

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

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