Joel Embiid‘s status for Wednesday’s game in Washington has been a source of some confusion over the course of the day. The Sixers added the star center to their 11:15 am injury report, ruling him out due to an illness, which was apparently news to Embiid.
“Must be APRIL FOOLS joke????” Embiid wrote on Twitter. “Played against Miami in the same conditions and I’m planning to play tonight!!! #SweatItOut”
Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required) reached out to Sixers president of basketball Daryl Morey, who provided some clarity on the situation, explaining that Embiid was unable to attend Wednesday morning’s film session, prompting the team to rule him out and get his him checked out by a doctor. Embiid, who scored 26 points in 34 minutes while playing through the illness in a loss to Miami on Monday, hopped back on social media to respond to the news.
“I guess they won’t let me play basketball!!” he tweeted.
Here’s more on the 76ers:
- Veteran point guard Cameron Payne played just two minutes on Saturday in Charlotte. On Monday, he got his first DNP-CD since joining the Sixers in February. Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice examines Payne’s declining role, noting that the 76ers appear to be experimenting with using rookie VJ Edgecombe as the point guard during the rare moments when Tyrese Maxey is off the court.
- In a mailbag for PhillyVoice, Aaronson considers whether Nick Nurse is in danger of losing his job this offseason and points out that the Sixers are missing Jared McCain‘s three-point shooting, having ranked 29th in the league in 3PT% since trading him to Oklahoma City.
- Mizell also fielded questions in a mailbag for the Inquirer, including one on what Philadelphia’s playoff rotation will look like. Andre Drummond, Justin Edwards, Trendon Watford, Jabari Walker, and Payne are among the players who may not see a ton of action in the postseason, Mizell writes.
- Justinian Jessup, the 51st overall pick in the 2020 draft whose NBA rights are held by the Sixers, has signed a multiyear contract extension with Bayern Munich and is now under contract with the German team through 2028, per a press release. The former Boise State shooting guard once looked like a candidate to sign an NBA contract, but he’s now 27 years old and six years removed from being drafted, so that seems increasingly unlikely. Philadelphia acquired his rights in this year’s Eric Gordon trade with Memphis.
If I am reading this correctly and I like to think that I am, Joel Embiid (who is owed one gazillion dollars over the next 3 years) could not be bothered to show up to the team’s film session. So the team decided to quiet suspend him for a game, and he decided to call out the teams management not once but twice! I am sure Embiid has never been late or missed an organized team activity before. Seems like an overreaction.
Sixers just chopping and changing rotations to see how things work together before the playoffs, really a nothing story.
Just seeing how some guys play with other guys and how effective they can be in different roles. That’s just being smart. Nick Nurse is a good head coach not top 10 or anything but he’s smart and experienced.
This season no one had massive expectations after the disaster of a year we had last year.
We are currently the 7th seed but only just back on 5th. Ideally we don’t have to do the play in. I’d be happy to line up against the Knicks in third in the first round (finish 6th). Think we can beat them and after that I don’t hate us being match up against the pistons who aren’t very experienced.
I’d be avoiding the Celtics and Cavs which I think is what they are doing.