76ers vs. Blazers: Joel Embiid Could Miss Sunday’s Matchup

The Philadelphia 76ers are set to host the Portland Trail Blazers for their first home game of the 2023-2024 NBA season on Sunday.

Considering the matchup is the second leg of a back-to-back set, the Sixers are considering giving Joel Embiid the night off.

As of Sunday afternoon, the Sixers are labeling Embiid as questionable for the matchup. Fortunately, his potential absence won’t have anything to do with an injury-related setback.

Despite missing all but one of the four preseason games, Joel Embiid was healthy and available for the Sixers’ season opener on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.

The big man was admittedly dealing with some rust throughout his 36-minute shift against the Bucks. Putting up 21 shots from the field, Embiid drained nine of his attempts, with three coming from beyond the arc. As he got his feet wet in the field during the second half, Embiid uncharacteristically struggled from the charity stripe, draining just 38 percent of his eight free throws. He wrapped up the season opener with 24 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and seven turnovers in the one-point loss.

Two nights later, Embiid and the Sixers paid a visit to the Toronto Raptors. The MVP center checked in for 35 minutes, once again attempting 21 shots from the field. That time around, Embiid was successful on nearly 70 percent of his shots. He scored 34 points while racking up nine rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and one block. In the turnover department, Embiid turned the ball over just once, which was a massive improvement from game one.

“I’m knocking off the rust,” Embiid told reporters after his Saturday night performance. “[Milwaukee was] the first game of the season, so I was being extremely passive trying to go through the offense. That was a big reason why I had seven turnovers. Tonight, I just took my time. They came, and they doubled pretty quickly, but tonight was more aggressive. I was just catching the ball, going quick, and making the right plays.”

If Embiid gets Sunday night’s game off, the Sixers will likely pivot to playing Paul Reed in the starting lineup. Where they go beyond Reed will be even more interesting, considering how the preseason played out.

At the start of the offseason, the veteran center Mo Bamba was the go-to backup behind Reed when Embiid got the night off. After struggling in the Sixers’ first two preseason outings, Nick Nurse explored the unknown in the former second-round rookie Filip Petrusev.

In the event Embiid gets the night off against Portland on Sunday, there could be a chance for Petrusev to make his NBA debut two years after getting selected by the team with the 50th overall pick.

The Sixers and the Blazers are set to begin their matchup at 7:30 PM ET.