Joel Embiid a Late Scratch vs. Grizzlies on Monday

Just as the Philadelphia 76ers started to get healthier, the team battled a couple of minor setbacks ahead of their Monday night matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies. Sixers center Joel Embiid becomes the latest player to find himself ruled out in Memphis last minute. According to a team official, Embiid is dealing with right rib soreness.
Embiid's absence on Monday night will be his 11th this season. Earlier this year, Embiid missed a game against the Portland Trail Blazers as he got a planned rest night. Then, he missed eight-straight games last month as he battled a case of COVID-19.
With Embiid out of the lineup on Monday, the Sixers will roll with Andre Drummond in the starting lineup. Right now, it's unclear just how serious Embiid's latest setback is. But considering he was planning to play for most of the day as he was left off the injury report, it seems the Sixers are just being cautious with the big man.
Embiid isn't the only starter to miss Monday's game suddenly. In addition to Embiid, the Sixers will miss another starter in shooting guard Seth Curry.
Roughly half an hour before the Sixers planned to tip-off in Memphis, Curry was ruled out of the game with shoulder soreness. Starting in Curry's place will be the struggling reserve, Furkan Korkmaz.
Like Embiid, it's unclear if Curry's setback is serious. However, all signs point towards the veteran sharpshooter being fine as he avoided the injury report leading up to the matchup.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s Philadelphia 76ers On SI Network. 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 Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia Threads: @JGrassoMedia
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