76ers vs. Blazers: Joel Embiid's Playing Status on Sunday

Will Joel Embiid face the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday?

After being listed as questionable for Sunday’s matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Philadelphia 76ers’ star center Joel Embiid will get the nod to play. Going into the matchup, the Sixers considered Embiid questionable due to rest.

Throughout the entire offseason, Embiid was an active participant in the team’s training sessions. When the preseason fired up, the big man took the first two games off against the Boston Celtics due to rest.

Embiid targeted a return to the court for the Sixers’ third preseason outing against the Brooklyn Nets, but an illness caused the veteran to miss the trip to New York, sitting out for the third straight game.

The Sixers managed to get Embiid on the floor for the team’s preseason finale against the Atlanta Hawks. As he made it out of the preseason fully healthy, Embiid was on pace to make his 2023-2024 season debut against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night.

In his first set of action for the season, Embiid checked in for 36 minutes. During that time, he scored 24 points on 43 percent shooting from the field. He also had seven rebounds and six assists. Unfortunately, Embiid’s most notable stat came in the turnover department, as he committed seven total.

Two nights later, Embiid returned to the floor for a 35-minute shift against the Toronto Raptors. Draining 67 percent of his shots, Embiid accounted for 34 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. He cleaned up his turnover woes, losing possession just once throughout the night.

Embiid admitted after Saturday’s game that rust played a part in his struggles against Milwaukee. Although the big man was getting back into the swing of things after missing a majority of the preseason, the Sixers considered giving him a rest night on Sunday heading into the home opener against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Before Sunday’s matchup, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse acknowledged Embiid’s potential absence after appearing in the opening matchups. 

“He’s here, and he’s going to go through a little test here beforehand,” Nurse explained. “There’s nothing injury-wise. We just played last night and traveled and all that stuff. We’ll find out here shortly if he’s available.”

While the Sixers’ decision to consider holding Embiid out received a lot of criticism from fans, the positive note from Nurse was that the MVP center is not dealing with anything injury-related, which is always a positive sign.

Fortunately, fans won’t have to worry about the center’s availability as he’s been cleared for action.