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Philadelphia 76ers Coach Discusses Joel Embiid’s Status vs Cavaliers

Joel Embiid is on pace to miss the 76ers' matchup against the Cavaliers on Saturday.

Justin Grasso

Nov 21, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) in action against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Nov 21, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) in action against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
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At the beginning of the 2024-2025 NBA season, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid made it clear that he didn’t plan to play back-to-back games this season. Eventually, he walked back that statement but hasn’t proven anybody otherwise just yet.

When Embiid looked at a back-to-back after his season debut, the star center expectedly got the second night off. On Friday, Embiid and the Sixers wrapped up a game against the Charlotte Hornets and will travel to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

According to Nick Nurse, he is under the belief that Joel Embiid will be out against the Cavaliers.

For what it’s worth, Embiid was expected to miss Saturday’s game already. When the Sixers prepared for their Monday night matchup against Charlotte, they announced Embiid would be re-evaluated in approximately one week after he suffered a sinus fracture.

By Wednesday, Embiid was back at practice. On Friday, he was upgraded to questionable for the home matchup against the Hornets. After getting cleared for action, Embiid checked in for 31 minutes in the victory over Charlotte.

“I thought he looked good,” Nurse told reporters after the game. “Obviously, he was scoring the ball after a little bit of a slow start. He got a good number of assists, especially early. I thought he looked pretty good.”

Embiid made half of his shots from the field on Friday. He led the Sixers in scoring with 34 points. He nearly notched a double-double after dishing out nine assists. On the glass, Embiid came down with five rebounds.

With a fourth win over the Hornets this year, the Sixers sweep the season series and move to 9-16 on the year. They could use Embiid for their Saturday night matchup against the 23-4 Cleveland Cavaliers, but the Sixers will stick to the plan of playing the long game.

Embiid is on pace to miss his 18th game of the year.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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