According to Philadelphia 76ers coach Nick Nurse, there is a “good likelihood” that reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid will return before the postseason. “I think there’s a very good likelihood that he will return before the playoffs,” Nurse said before the Sixers faced the Los Angeles Clippers.
Embiid, who has averaged 35.3 points and 11.5 rebounds this season, has missed 27 games due to a meniscus injury sustained on Jan. 30 versus Golden State, which necessitated surgery on Feb. 6. The Sixers were 10-16 in games since Embiid’s injury entering Wednesday.
The organization revealed two weeks ago that Embiid had begun on-court work, but has remained tight-lipped about the extent of his involvement.
Nurse stated, noting that he had FaceTime chats with his star center but had not seen him in person due to Philadelphia’s four-game West Coast trip:
“He’s on the court, as you guys know, but we still don’t have a timeline,” “I would imagine that he’s getting better each day. He’s trying to get strong, confident, in shape and ramped up.”
When questioned about Embiid’s on-court activities and whether they included scrimmages against the Sixers’ G-League squad, Nurse just stated that Embiid was “on the court” and “we’ll let you know when we get there” regarding a probable return date.
After Wednesday, Philadelphia will have nine regular-season games remaining. The 76ers are presently ninth in the Eastern Conference standings.
