Joel Embiid's Playing Status in Game 3 vs. Miami Heat

After being listed as out on Thursday night, the Philadelphia 76ers have upgraded their veteran center Joel Embiid's playing status to available for Game 3 on Friday night, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Throughout the majority of the Sixers’ playoff run, Embiid has dealt with numerous setbacks. During their Game 3 win in the first round over the Toronto Raptors, Embiid injured his hand.

After the big man received an MRI a few days later, he was diagnosed with a torn ligament in his thumb. Although Embiid will eventually undergo surgery to repair his thumb, the five-time All-Star decided to put it off until the offseason.

Unfortunately, Embiid couldn’t avoid further setbacks. During the Sixers’ Game 6 victory over the Raptors, Embiid took an elbow to the face on the defensive end. At the time, Embiid feared he might’ve suffered a significant injury, and he turned out to be correct.

One night after the Sixers eliminated the Raptors, Embiid was diagnosed with an orbital fracture and a mild concussion. He was ruled out indefinitely and wasn’t cleared to make the trip to Miami for the start of the series. As expected, Embiid missed both Game 1 and Game 2 against the Heat.

During that stretch on the road, the Sixers came up short in both games. Now, off to an 0-2 start, the Sixers hoped to get a boost by having their big man return to the floor. At first, Embiid was ruled out on the team’s Thursday night injury report.

The following morning, Embiid cleared the concussion protocol and participated in the Sixers’ shootaround session. Following the session, the Sixers upgraded Embiid from out to doubtful.

Before Friday's game, Doc Rivers revealed that Embiid would be deemed a game-time decision. After going through his pregame warmups, the Sixers cleared the big man for action. He'll return to Philly's starting lineup in Game 3.c

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

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