Sixers Star Likely to Play Against Clippers, Who Are Missing a Star of their Own

When the Sixers (27-21) take the court against the Los Angeles Clippers (23-25) late Monday night, they'll likely do so with Joel Embiid available.

The star big man, on a streak of seven games with at least 25 points, is 'probable' with right ankle injury management.

It would be Embiid's 29th game played this season.

Paul George, as we've covered prolifically here over the last several days, is out as a result of a 25-game suspension by the NBA for violating the league's Anti-Drug Program. This will be the secod game of George's suspension.

Charles Bassey, Johni Broome and MarJon Beauchamp (Two-Way) have been ruled 'available' after their statuses were uncertain due to G-League assignments.

On the Clippers' side, James Harden will miss the game for personal reasons.

Bradley Beal is out for the season with a fractured left hip. Derrick Jones Jr. is out with a sprained right knee.

Chris Paul remains away from the Clippers and is out.

TyTy Washington Jr. is on a Two-Way G League assignment and will not be available.

The, shall we say it nicely, veteran Clippers will be on the second leg of a back-to-back. Kawhi Leonard is available after playing 30 minutes against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. Rest should serve as an advantage for the Sixers. Philadelphia, by the way, will be flying from Los Angeles to San Francisco for the second leg of a back-to-back to visit the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. The Warriors are already without Jimmy Butler III for the season with a torn ACL and have ruled Stephen Curry out for Tuesday's game.

So neither leg of this back-to-back should be particularly daunting, a blessing for a Sixers team in the early stages of a five-game west coast trip to start this George suspension.

Nonetheless, should Embiid play, this will be an enticing late-night matchup to watch. There are not many players of Ivica Zubac's caliber in this league. His defense will be a strong test for Embiid, who has stacked high-level play for more than a month now.

If you recall, Embiid was not available when these two teams met in Philadelphia back in the middle of November. The Clippers led by double digits for most of the game and the Sixers made a fourth-quarter comeback to take the lead before the game's final possession.

Harden then missed a pair of threes that would've given Los Angeles the lead, instead securing the victory for the Sixers.