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The Philadelphia 76ers have listed superstar big man Joel Embiid as out for Game 3 against the Miami Heat on the latest injury report.
Embiid suffered a concussion and fractured orbital bone in his left eye in the Sixers’ series-clinching win against Toronto in the first round. The Sixers have been holding out hope that Embiid can return to the court at some point in their series against the Heat, especially now down 2-0.
While Embiid is listed as out for the matchup, there’s still a chance he plays, per ESPN. Since he’s in concussion protocol, until he clears it he cannot be listed as another other than out at this point. Head coach Doc Rivers did not any significant updates during Thursday’s practice on Embiid.
“No, not yet,” Rivers said when asked if there was a change in Embiid’s status. “Still has hurdles to get over. I’m not a doctor. I don’t even know all, I mean, besides the concussion protocols, he has to get through all that and all the other stuff with the injury.”
Heat Bracing for Joel Embiid’s Return
Meanwhile, the Heat said they’ve been preparing for Embiid to return to the lineup, especially with the series shifting back to Philadelphia.
“It changes dramatically,” Heat skipper Erik Spoelstra said Wednesday. “You’re talking about MVP talent, you know? So we’ll just have to see.
“We knew that this series was going to shift, and it was going to change pretty dramatically [if he returns]. It’s better for it to change dramatically when we’re able to get a couple wins [first] but yeah, he changes the equation quite a bit.”
Miami has been playing without one of their stars in Kyle Lowry, who has been sidelined four consecutive games with a hamstring injury. Lowry is questionable for Game 3, along with Tyler Herro, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, P.J. Tucker and Caleb Martin.
Rivers Says Big Men Not to Blame for Sixers Struggles
Embiid’s absence has left a very large hole at both ends of the court for the Sixers, with DeAndre Jordan and Paul Reed looking to fill the void. The duo took on the majority of the center minutes, combining for 10 points and 9 rebounds.
“You can’t blame DJ. You can’t blame Paul. They’re doing their best,” said Rivers, who has vehemently defended Jordan during the series.
The Sixers face an uphill battle to get back into the series but Rivers still has faith in his squad, partly because he feels like the can turn around their miserable 3-point shooting.
“I feel great,” Rivers said. “I mean, I would rather not be down 0-2, but should I feel bad? I mean, we lost two games. You watch the film last night, we played hard. Our guys competed. If anybody has a problem with that, then there’s something wrong with it. We got great shots. Since there’s a lot of analytical people out there in the world, it was our 12th-best [shot profile] of the year, which means we didn’t make shots, but we got great shots and I believe in the guys we play on the floor that they can make them over the long haul. I thought in Game 1 we got great shots. Didn’t like them as much. But Game 2, we had a ton of open shots. Ton of open 3s.
“The game, when you look at it, came down to the 3-point line in a lot of ways. They made theirs, we missed ours. So I think we believe in our players.”
Game 3 is scheduled for Friday at Wells Fargo Center.
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