Embiid's Doubty Turns to Availability as Sixers Face Heat
Philadelphia, PA - Joel Embiid scored big with the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night in Miami with the team going head-to-head against the Heat.
Earlier, the injury report initially said that Embiid was listed as questionable due to illness. However then got down graded to doubtful late in the morning. Then Embiid came out and practiced during pre-game warm-ups, and became a starter for the game. Kyle Lowry, Jared McCain, along with Paul George, joined Embiid in the starting lineup while Tyrese Maxey was forced out by an injury to a right hamstring strain but still traveled with the team as part of their three-game road trip.
During their loss against the Magic on Friday night of the same round-trip, Embiid scored 20 points and had eight rebounds after posting solid stats in the first half. Nonetheless, it appeared subpar in that second-half performance when he logged a total of 33 minutes.
"I usually take a few games to get going," said Embiid who made significant strides with his team’s success last night.
Andre Drummond was noticeably absent due to an illness which impacted play during Monday evening’s matchup. Guerschon Yabusele, took on a larger role that included being seen as both power forward substitute and backup center, receiving over twenty, minutes.
The 5-7 Heat will begin another series tonight against the Sixers who were in danger of missing postseason but held onto a crucial win after beating the Cavaliers last week. As this game began Monday at eighth place overall it came on the heels of their first sixties victory to conclude their last few victories to conclude with more than ten overall wins prior to the upcoming weekend’s playoffs.
They lost their last game to the Magic and needed this win for further momentum as Embiid has been practicing to regain peak performance against the Heat who will also be facing injuries from players like Paul George and Jared McCain. In this final three-game stretch, a good outcome is required in order to qualify for postseasons.