Heading into their second NBA Cup action, the Philadelphia 76ers are going to miss their star center, Joel Embiid, once again. A concerning trend for the big man continues, as he's slated to miss his third-straight game.
Heading into the Sixers' Tuesday night game against the Boston Celtics, Embiid told the team's medical staff he was dealing with soreness. The team downgraded him to out and had him undergo an evaluation, which included imaging.
The good news was that Embiid didn't have any structural issues based on the evaluation. The bad news is that he'll go on to miss three games after being available in six of the first nine games of the year. His longest streak of absences extends as the early stages of the 2025-2026 NBA season continue.
Following Tuesday's tight Sixers victory over the Celtics, Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse labeled the star center as day-to-day, leaving the chances of a specific timeline being put in place out of the question for the time being.
When asked about Embiid's possible participation in a Thursday practice session or Friday's game, Nurse said he didn't want to rule anything out at the time. "It is a wait-and-see from there," Nurse explained.
While Embiid has been off to a better start in 2025-2026 compared to last year, he hasn't been able to shake his minutes restriction before dealing with another setback.
"I think what I'm more concerned of is, I think he's trending upwards, right?" Nurse added. "I think the conditioning and the minutes and all the things are going to trend up to playing even better, right? So, it's really important that we get to hopefully get him out there soon."
Through his first six games of the season, Embiid has averaged 23.3 minutes per game, which would mark a career low. Despite the restriction, he's been quite productive, averaging 19.7 points while shooting 46 percent from the field. In addition to his scoring, Embiid has produced 5.5 rebounds per game and dished out an average of 3.3 assists.
Even with the few Embiid absences and Paul George yet to debut, the Sixers have a strong standing in the Eastern Conference with a 7-4 record. They currently rank in the top three, which includes the New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons.
After the Sixers and the Pistons battle for an NBA Cup group game, Philly will get a two-day break before returning to the court on Monday to face the Los Angeles Clippers. Embiid's status for that game will be up in the air.
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