Sixers' Joel Embiid Won't Appear in Preseason Finale vs. Pacers

Joel Embiid is out on Friday.

After having a fully healthy roster on Tuesday night for the 2020 NBA preseason opener against the Boston Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers will be slightly shorthanded on Friday night for the preseason finale against the Indiana Pacers.

Sixers center Joel Embiid is set to miss Friday night's game in Indiana. According to 76ers team reporter Brian Seltzer, Embiid is currently dealing with an illness. As the COVID-19 pandemic is still in effect, it's necessary to note that Embiid is not dealing with any COVID-related symptoms and did not test positive for the virus.

But as a precaution, the Sixers did not have Embiid travel to Indiana and will hold the veteran big man out of Friday night's game. Embiid's absence during the second and final preseason game won't make much of a difference for the Sixers.

Although having limited time to get fully into basketball shape isn't necessarily ideal, Embiid looked as good as ever during Tuesday night's matchup against the Celtics. The veteran big man checked into the game for a total of 17 minutes. During that time, he put up 18 points while collecting two steals and three rebounds.

After dominating in the first and second quarters, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers decided to call it a night for Embiid and allowed the All-Star to take the rest of the night off in the second half. With Embiid out of Friday's game, the 76ers will likely start Dwight Howard in his place. Backing up Howard will be a toss-up between Tony Bradley and Vincent Poirier. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_