Sixers' Joel Embiid on Pace to Play vs. Celtics on Tuesday

After missing ten-straight games over the last couple of weeks, Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid finally got back in the mix this past weekend.

The Sixers center spent three weeks rehabbing a bruised knee after hyperextending it during a dunk attempt against the Washington Wizards.

As he resumed basketball activities and started getting back into game condition two weeks into his on-court absence, the Sixers cleared Embiid for action on Saturday night so he could play against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Embiid was on a minutes restriction, as expected. Since Sixers head coach Doc Rivers made it clear he didn't want the big man playing any more than 35 minutes, Embiid checked in for a 28-minute shift on Saturday night.

While Embiid didn't think he had a good night statistically, the big man mentioned that his body felt great after playing in a game for the first time in over three weeks.

The following night, the 76ers hosted another opponent in the Memphis Grizzlies. Considering Embiid just returned to the lineup after taking so much time off, the 76ers decided it would be best to ease him back into the swing of things. Therefore, Embiid was ruled out on Sunday morning for the 7:00 pm tip.

“His first game back was [on Saturday],” Rivers said on Sunday evening. “I would say, any player, not just Joel, any player who’s been out for three weeks and plays in a game, you probably don’t play them on the next night. It’s just smart. This one is pretty simple. I don’t think this is a hard decision for any of us. All the other ones, we go by game by game and day by day, but this one didn’t take a lot of thought.”

With Monday off, the Sixers traveled to Boston following the shorthanded loss to the Grizzlies. As expected, Embiid made the trip with the team. While Rivers mentioned they would take it day-by-day with Embiid, it seems the team has already decided his status for Tuesday's game against the Celtics, and it's a positive sign.

Per Philly's Monday night injury report, Embiid is not listed with any injury, which means he's on pace to play again on Tuesday night. Barring any setbacks leading up to the matchup, Embiid is likely good to go against the Celtics.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.