Did Joel Embiid's Setback Affect Play in 76ers' Loss vs. Pacers?

Heading into Tuesday night’s rematch against the Indiana Pacers, the Philadelphia 76ers considered rolling without their six-time All-Star big man, Joel Embiid.

On the eve of the second NBA In-Season Tournament matchup for the Sixers, they added Embiid to the injury report. He was questionable due to hip soreness.

It was apparent that Embiid’s setback wasn’t too severe. Not only did he finish Sunday night’s victory over the Pacers without any limitations, but he also participated in the team’s practice session on Monday. Prior to Tuesday’s game, Nick Nurse mentioned that Embiid was a game-time decision.

As expected, Embiid went through his normal pregame routine on Tuesday night, looking like a player who anticipated competing once again. Sure enough, Embiid was cleared for action roughly 30 minutes before the Sixers and the Pacers tipped off.

There wasn’t a minute restriction in place for the star center. As the Sixers and the Pacers engaged in a tough, physical battle, Embiid was on the floor for nearly 38 minutes. During that time, he put up 22 shots and accounted for 17 free throws. He scored a game-high 39 points in the loss against the Pacers.

“We just got to clean up finishing games,” he said. “We’ve been doing a good job, but tonight, we had a few travel calls, but we were just really kind of disorganized. At times, we were just stuck, and we weren’t getting ourselves open, and we just got to do a better job.”

The Sixers might’ve lost their first game since October on Tuesday, but making it out of the first matchup of a back-to-back set with a relatively healthy Embiid is definitely a win this early on in the season.

“I was okay. I wasn’t myself,” Embiid admitted. “I wasn’t moving as well as I’ve been moving. Tough loss, but we’ve been on a roll — you can’t win them all — just got to learn from it.”

After an intense battle with the Pacers on Tuesday, Embiid’s status for Wednesday’s game against the Boston Celtics is unclear. While he didn’t feel his best, Embiid still managed to turn in a productive outing, securing a near-40-point double-double, collecting 12 rebounds, dishing out six assists, and snatching three steals.

With hardly any time to rest and recover, Embiid and the Sixers have a tough decision to make regarding his playing status on Wednesday against Boston. On one hand, it would be ideal for the Sixers to do all they can to go up 2-0 in the regular season series against the Celtics. On the other hand, it’s still mid-November, and there’s a lot of hoops left to be played.

The Sixers and the Celtics will tip at 7:30 PM ET.