Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid made it clear recently he wants to play in the postseason. Whether or not he will get that chance in Game 3 of the Sixers’ series with the Miami Heat on Thursday night (7 ET, TNT) remains unknown for now.
What is known is that Embiid will have a bigger role in practice going forward. He was on the practice court on Tuesday and the Sixers are slated to practice today as well as a morning shootaround before Game 3 of the series. The next update on Embiid’s status is expected to come Wednesday afternoon, but whatever that status is could change again on Thursday.
For now, writes Marc Narducci of Philly.com, Embiid has yet to be ruled out for Game 3. Additionally, Sixers coach Brett Brown gave an update yesterday on how Embiid is progressing:
Embiid was still not cleared for contact but was scheduled to participate somewhat in practice Tuesday. (The media didn’t have access to practice.)
“He will be doing some shooting and scripting, really for the first time with the team,” coach Brett Brown told the media before the Sixers practiced. “What that translates in regards of when he will play again with us on the court, we don’t know.”
When asked whether he was progressing toward contact, Brown replied, “Yes, he is progressing and it is such an open-ended word, I feel responsible saying yes he is progressing.”
Brown later expanded on the topic.
“Today we will get up and down and do some script stuff, not entirely physical stuff, but it is progressing,” he said. He added that he doesn’t think it’ll be long before the Sixers know, “but we will learn more over the next 48 hours, I suspect.”
The big man has missed both of Philadelphia’s playoff games — and 10 games overall — while he watches from the sideline and recovers from surgery for an orbital fracture. Embiid had hoped to play in Game 2 after the NBA’s concussion protocol, but the Sixers are being conservative with his return to the court and ultimately ruled him out.
After Philadelphia lost Game 2 on Monday night, Embiid took to Instagram to vent his frustrations, writing, “F—ing sick and tired of being babied.”
When asked about the post, Embiid stressed to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that he was simply eager to suit up for his team once again.
“I promised the city the playoffs and I’m not on the court and I may not be on Thursday either,” Embiid said. “I wish more than anything that I was out there. I just want the green light to play.”
After the loss, 76ers coach Brett Brown seemed understanding of Embiid’s emotions.
“He just wants to play basketball,” Brown said. “He wants to be with his team. He wants to play in front of the fans. He wants to see this through. When he’s not able to do that, he gets frustrated.”
