After he was listed as doubtful on Thursday night’s injury report, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid was cleared for action against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.
Joel Embiid’s back problems started on Monday evening. During the second half of the game against the Denver Nuggets, the Sixers star made a serious foul and dropped a big fall. Even though he remained in the game, it was clear that Embiid was sad.
He completed Monday night’s outing with 34 points and 36 minutes. After the game, Embiid did not reveal any updates about his back, but he did mention that the tiredness started as the last stretch of the regular season continued.
“It was hard,” he said Monday night. “Of course I played more than 40 minutes last night. I think this year I really only missed two games except those games because of the COVID. I’m starting to feel it, but I have to keep pushing.”
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Normally, Embiid is known for missing pieces of games throughout the season, but this year is different. Outside of a battle with COVID-19 in November, Embiid was healthier than ever and did not miss any subsequent games.
The last time the All-Star Center was exposed was in late January, when the Sixers hit the Memphis Grizzlies. At that time, the Sixers held off Embiid so he could gain some peace of mind during the busy schedule.
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers recently said that the team plans to rest Embiid and his co-star James Harden at some point during the last stretch of the year, but Embiid’s time has not yet come.
On Wednesday, the big man started in his 18th game in a row, despite back pain. And to enter Friday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, he was once again listed as doubtful in the injury report.
However, after participating in the Team Morning Shootaround and going through his pregame warmups, Embiid felt up to the challenge once again playing Friday night against the Mavericks.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
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