76ers vs. Lakers: Is Joel Embiid on Philly’s Injury Report?
The playing status of Joel Embiid has come into question more often than not lately. As the Philadelphia 76ers center has been dealing with hip soreness over the last couple of weeks, he was questionable for a handful of games.
Last week, Embiid finally missed a matchup for the first time this season. As the Sixers paid a visit to the Minnesota Timberwolves on the second night of a back-to-back set, Embiid assumed he might get the night off following a 41-minute shift against the Cleveland Cavaliers, which marked a season-high.
Sure enough, the big man was ruled out. The Sixers replaced Embiid with Marcus Morris in the starting lineup. The head coach, Nick Nurse, continued to utilize Paul Reed as the backup center. In Embiid’s absence, the Sixers came up short, collecting their second-straight loss.
A few nights later, the Sixers were back on the court, visiting the Oklahoma City Thunder. Embiid was upgraded to probable for the game, and he was cleared for action. Facing the star rookie Chet Holmgren, Embiid teased a triple-double. Going 8-18 from the field and 19-21 from the charity stripe, Embiid produced 35 points. He also collected 11 rebounds and dished out nine assists in the Sixers’ 127-123 victory over OKC.
On Monday night, the Sixers will battle it out with the Los Angeles Lakers. Although they have a couple of players present on the injury report ahead of the matchup, the Sixers left Embiid off of it this time around.
Barring any unexpected changes, Embiid should be good to make his 16th appearance of the year on Monday night against the Lakers. In two appearances against the Lakers last season, Embiid collected over 30 points in each outing. During the early December matchup, he posted 38 points, five assists, and 12 rebounds in 46 minutes of action. The following month, Embiid produced another 35 points, four assists, and 11 rebounds in 36 minutes.
Monday night marks the 11th time Embiid will face the Lakers in his career.
