Preparing for the Game 5 battle in Boston, the Philadelphia 76ers held a routine shootaround session on Tuesday morning. Joel Embiid remains on the team’s injury report for the matchup.
Fortunately, Embiid was initially listed as probable for the game. That’s a big change compared to the last two matchups, where the Sixers had him listed as doubtful.
To add more good news to the situation, the Sixers also had Embiid present for the team’s shootaround session at TD Garden hours before the game was set to tip off. That’s just another positive sign that suggests he should be good to go.
The Sixers’ Season Is On The Line
The 76ers need all hands on deck, and should have it for Tuesday’s Game 5 action.
Although Embiid’s injury status could reverse, he seems more than likely on pace to play, considering he didn’t suffer any setbacks during his playoff debut in Game 4 on Sunday night.
It was a short but exhausting process to get back on track for Embiid.
After Embiid was cleared to play in Game 4, the star center checked in for 34 minutes. He shot 9-21 from the field and 7-9 from the free-throw line to score 26 points.
Along with his scoring, Embiid came down with 10 rebounds and produced six assists, one steal, and one block.
Despite the return of the superstar center, the 76ers didn’t have any answers for the Celtics. Boston defeated Philadelphia with a score of 128-96. Now, the 76ers are down with no cushion left.
“We know what we didn’t do well, obviously,” Joel Embiid told reporters. “I think they believe in what they believe, which is shoot a lot of threes, and they believe they can make enough of it to win every single game. Tonight, offensive rebounding hurt us a little bit—a lot, actually. I think threes equal long rebounds. It felt like we kept coming in. Instead, you know, we should go towards our man and check them before even looking at the ball, and that’s an adjustment. We’ve had that problem all season. So, we got to do a better job.”
Embiid has a good shot at playing in his second postseason game. The Sixers are hoping to pick up their second win of the series, forcing a Game 6 in Philadelphia later this week.