UPDATE: Embiid ($9,500) will start Sunday vs. the Bulls, but the center will have a minutes limit, per Nick Nurse.
An impressive offseason gave 76ers fans high hopes, but injuries, headlined by Joel Embiid, have derailed the season. The 76ers sit in 13th place in the Eastern Conference with a 6-15 record through the early parts of the season.
The former MVP has played in just four games and hasn’t suited up since Nov. 20, but he is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Bulls.
Nick Nurse gave an update following the Sixers’ 102-94 victory over the Magic on Friday night.
“He’s been on court the last few days,” Nurse told reporters. “He’s doing OK. His knee swelling is down, feeling a little better. Maybe he’ll like get through tonight, and hope there’s a chance he can play in the next game.”
When further pressed about what specifically has been preventing the superstar from being on the court, Nurse stuck to his usual script.
“I think it’s just all the same,” Nurse said. “How’s the knee feeling? What kind of load can he handle? How many minutes? All those kinds of things, ramp up, just kind of all the things that go back to getting back to play, right?”
Embiid has played just four of a possible 21 games this season. When he has been on the court, he has not looked like himself. The two-time scoring champion is averaging 19.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He also shooting just 37.9 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
While Paul George is returning from injury and Jared McCain is having a breakout rookie season, Philadelphia’s outlook is fully dependent on Embiid’s availability. There was plenty of hype surrounding the trio of Embiid, George and Tyrese Maxey, but they’ve shared the floor for just six minutes.
Embiid has continually battled injury issues throughout his career with the left knee being a repeat offender. He has torn the meniscus several times in his career with this being the same injury that shut down his season last year.
The Bulls host the 76ers at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 8.
Keep an eye on his status before the 1:00 PM EST matchup takes place.
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