Joel Embiid's Playing Status vs. Knicks on Friday

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will miss his third-straight game on Friday night when the team takes on the New York Knicks. According to the Sixers, Embiid continues to deal with a non-COVID illness.

The All-Star center’s health concerns have been ongoing throughout the 2022-2023 season. After getting hand surgery in the offseason, Embiid also battled plantar fasciitis before the Sixers fired up training camp in late September.

Going into the new year, Embiid was healthy and cleared for action. Although he wasn’t in the best shape due to the lack of time he spent on the court while dealing with his foot issue, Embiid was starting to get back on track last week.

Unfortunately, a setback occurred. When the Sixers faced the Toronto Raptors last Friday night for their second-straight matchup on the road, Embiid was held out from the matchup due to knee injury recovery. According to Doc Rivers, Embiid was dealing with knee soreness. 

On the second night of the Sixers’ back-to-back against the Chicago Bulls, Embiid was cleared for action once again. Embiid checked into the Saturday night matchup for 31 minutes. He scored 25 points while shooting 60 percent from the field.

While Embiid looked healthy, a sudden illness took him off the court in the following game. As the Sixers prepared for their matchup against the Washington Wizards on Monday, Embiid was ruled out due to a non-COVID illness.

On Wednesday, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers revealed that Embiid was battling the flu and wasn’t with the team on Monday or Tuesday.

When the Sixers reunited at their practice facility on Friday morning, Embiid was present. Although he was back with the team, he remained questionable on the injury report, hinting he might be a game-time decision once again. 

While Embiid did go through pregame warmups on Friday, the big man clearly isn't up for making his return just yet. Therefore, Embiid will be replaced by Montrezl Harrell in the starting lineup.