CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers continue to work their way through the schedule with Joel Embiid on the sidelines. The big fella has not played since Nov. 8 against the Toronto Raptors as he has missed the previous seven games–six of them due to a right knee injury.
The Sixers continue to say Embiid is day-to-day, so he could play on Tuesday against the Orlando Magic as he looks to manage the soreness. It will depend on pain management and how much the 2023 MVP winner can handle on the floor.
Tyrese Maxey, who is a close friend of Embiid’s, wants to have his superstar teammate back on the floor, but he just wants him to get healthy. From a human standpoint–and as a friend–that is the biggest thing at the moment.
“As a friend, you just want to him to be healthy enough to play,” Maxey said at practice on Monday. “I want him to be happy. As long as he’s happy, then I’m happy. You know what I mean? At the end of day, yes, basketball is our career, but life is his life. You know what I’m saying? You only get one life, so you got to live life to the fullest, and as long as people are happy, his family’s good, he’s good, and he can get on the basketball court as much as possible, then I’m happy.”
Maxey and the Sixers are looking to bounce back from a tough loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday in which they were out-rebounded 58-46. Heat big men Kel’el Ware and Bam Adebayo went to work in the paint and Philadelphia didn’t have a real response to the duo in the paint. Having Embiid out there, of course, would have helped, but the Sixers don’t have him right now. So, it is what it is.
As far as practice is concerned on Monday, when asked about Embiid, coach Nick Nurse said the Sixers are waiting for clearance from the doctors to get him back on the floor. He did say that Embiid was a full participant at practice, while also addressing his spirits at the moment. It can be frustrating to work your way back from one serious knee injury, and now it’s the other knee that’s slowing you down.
“Yeah, no, he’s good,” Nurse added. “I mean, yeah, he’s a little frustrated about it, but I think he was cognizant of he was feeling something there, and he immediately wanted to get it figured out. Again, like I said—I think it was last night—that he’s trying doing a lot of stuff to try to get back on the floor so his spirits are good.”
On a side note, Maxey addressed what was bothering him in the loss to the Heat. He was grabbing at his right shoulder a bit early in the game and he explained what happened as he worked his way through the game.
“It happened, like, second, third play of the game,” Maxey added. “I, like, got a steal and felt a little weird, and then feel comfortable in a bit. I’m great.”
The Sixers will take on the Magic on Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Tyrese Maxey, Sixers discuss Joel Embiid as star continues to recover
