Joel Embiid injury: Update on star center’s status for Game 1 vs. Celtics
· Yahoo Sports
The Celtics will officially be facing a shorthanded 76ers squad when they open up their first round series on Sunday at TD Garden. Philadelphia has ruled former MVP Joel Embiid out as he recovers from his appendectomy surgery). He is the only player listed on the injury report for both teams.
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Embiid has been sidelined for the Sixers since undergoing the operation back on April 9 in Houston ahead o game against the Rockets. Embiid was in attendance for the team’s play-in tournament win over the Magic on Wednesday night but it’s unclear when or if he will be available for the series. Sixers coach Nick Nurse refused to speculate on his timeline after Sixers practice this week.
“You know what? I’m preparing for Sunday’s game, and I know he’s not playing in that one,” Nick Nurse told reporters on Friday. “So that’s all – we’re just zeroed in on trying to see, can we go in there and get ready to battle and fight and execute as best we can?”
The Sixers have been without Embiid for the majority of this season, with the big man active for just 38 regular season games. He averaged 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists over 31 minutes per game during the regular season. Without him available, Philadelphia is expected to lean on Adem Bona and Andre Drummond as the team’s primary centers.
Despite Embiid’s absence, Joe Mazzulla expects a tough test for the Celtics from Philadelphia’s lineup.
“ I think they’re continuing to develop their identity of having their guys back,” Mazzulla said. “You’re seeing Paul George at his best, Maxey at his best. With those guys out throughout the season, they’ve had their role players have been able to develop into big-time roles, with the way Oubre is playing, Drummond has been playing, Bona has gotten better and better, Grimes off the bench. So I think they’re a very, very well-balanced team. I think they’re playing some of their best basketball as they get healthier and healthier, and obviously they’re well coached.”
The Celtics and 76ers will tip off Game 1 at TD Garden on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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