76ers Keep Joel Embiid on Injury Report vs. Hawks

The Philadelphia 76ers return to the court on Friday night. For the first time this season, the Sixers will battle it out with the Atlanta Hawks.

Will Joel Embiid get the nod to go? Well, the Sixers are leaving that decision 50/50 as of now, which has been a common trend as of late.

So far this season, Embiid has been available for every outing. Although the Sixers considered resting him three games into the new season, Embiid played. Following Philly’s Sunday night win over the Indiana Pacers, Embiid felt hip soreness.

When the Sixers practiced on Monday afternoon, Embiid was a participant. However, the injury report for Tuesday’s game featured a questionable Embiid. Head coach Nick Nurse wasn’t willing to confirm Embiid’s status during his pregame press conference. Noting that Embiid is a game-time decision, the big man had to go through his pregame warmup to determine whether he was good to go or not.

Fortunately for the Sixers, Embiid was healthy and cleared for action. He checked in for 37 minutes, producing 39 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and three steals in the six-point loss against the Pacers.

The following night, the Sixers were back on the floor to face the Boston Celtics. As expected, Embiid was questionable with hip soreness. After getting cleared, Embiid checked in for nearly 34 minutes. Fatigue and soreness caught up to him, As Embiid scored a season-low 20 points. He also had nine rebounds and seven assists in the ten-point loss to the Celtics.

Embiid was still admittedly sore after the back-to-back set but didn’t hint that he suffered any further setbacks. Still, the Sixers consider him questionable to play in Friday’s game against the Hawks.

Based on the way the previous two games played out, Embiid will likely be viewed as a game-time decision for Friday.