76ers vs. Hawks: Joel Embiid’s Playing Status on Friday Night

The Philadelphia 76ers are set to take on the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. Once again, the Sixers will have their MVP big man Joel Embiid on board, as he’s been cleared for action.

Lately, Embiid’s been a regular on the team’s injury report. After dealing with hip soreness following Sunday’s game against the Indiana Pacers, Embiid was added to the injury report for Tuesday’s rematch against Indiana.

Before the game, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse mentioned that Embiid would be a game-time decision. After going through his pregame warmup routine, Embiid was cleared for action. He checked in for 37 minutes. During that time, Embiid produced 39 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and three steals.

Less than 24 hours after the loss to the Pacers, the Sixers were back on the floor at the Wells Fargo Center to face the Boston Celtics. Once again, the big man was questionable due to hip soreness. Embiid was cleared to play and checked in for 34 minutes. He put up 20 points and seven assists on the offensive end. Defensively, Embiid had nine rebounds and a steal in the ten-point loss against Boston.

Taking on consecutive losses for the first time all season, Embiid and the Sixers hope to get back on track Friday night with an In-Season Tournament matchup against the Hawks. Throughout his career, Embiid has faced the Hawks 16 times. In an average of 30 minutes, Embiid averaged 25 points, three assists, and ten rebounds against Atlanta.

76ers Focused on Bouncing Back vs. Hawks

Although Embiid’s back in the mix, the Sixers will still face Atlanta while shorthanded on Friday. As expected, the veteran forward Kelly Oubre was ruled out due to a fractured rib. He missed the previous three games for the Sixers.

As for the veteran forward Nic Batum, he’s been away from the team due to personal reasons. After making his starting debut with the Sixers on Sunday, Batum was ruled out for both Tuesday and Wednesday’s games. He’ll miss Friday’s as well, while the team expects Batum to be back in action on Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets.