After an extended stint on the sideline, Philadelphia 76ers star center Joel Embiid returned to game action during Philadelphia’s 142-134 double overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks over the weekend.
Embiid played 30 minutes against Atlanta and tallied 18 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. It wasn’t his best performance by any stretch of the imagination, but it was nice to have him back out on the court. His return to game action was brief though, as he’ll be back on the sideline when the Sixers host the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
Joel Embiid ruled out vs. Wizards due to injury management
Embiid has been officially ruled out of the game against Washington due to right knee injury recovery.
Obviously this is slightly alarming, as the game against the Wizards isn’t part of a back-to-back, so you would think Embiid would be good to go. However, there’s a chance that the Sixers are just being cautious following his first game back after almost a month on the sideline.
Plus, the Sixers probably shouldn’t need Embiid to best the hapless Wizards, who sit at the very bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 3-16. Nonetheless, the consistent uncertainty regarding Embiid’s availability can’t be easy to manage for head coach Nick Nurse or the rest of the players on the team.
After the loss to Atlanta, Embiid lamented the fact that hasn’t been able to be out on the court with his teammates on a nightly basis.
"The only thing I’ll say is, I do feel bad, but it's unfortunate," Embiid said. "You can only control what you can control. If anybody thinks that I don't want to play every game, that's their problem, but I think history has shown that I would do anything just to play one game of basketball.”
Embiid has appeared in just seven games for the Sixers this season and he’s averaging career lows in both points (19.4) and rebounds (5.3) per game.