Oct 31, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) reacts against the Boston Celtics in the third quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Sixers Make the Right Call After Joel Embiid's Biggest Shift

Originally posted on Philadelphia 76ers on SI
By Declan Harris | Last updated Nov 2, 2025 8:18 AM ET

On Sunday evening, the Philadelphia 76ers will pay a visit to the Barclays Center for their first matchup against the Brooklyn Nets this year. Their meeting will come fresh off the heels of their first loss this campaign, as they dropped their game against the Boston Celtics on Friday night.

The game saw the Sixers fall into a double-digit deficit early on in the match, and fight their way back throughout the second half, but a missed opportunity with 3.5 seconds left on the clock brought Philadelphia’s winning streak to an end.

Their loss against Boston wasn’t just any ordinary loss, as it was the opening match of the NBA Cup, which, while only in the group stage, it’s imperative to win all possible games.

Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Against Boston, Tyrese Maxey led the way with 26 points to his name, Joel Embiid put up 20 points of his own in what was a season-high 25 minutes, as he took to the court for Philadelphia’s final push down the stretch. This comes amid a minutes restriction for the former MVP as he continues to ramp back up to full strength following an offseason full of injury recovery for his left knee that caused him plenty of issues last season.

Will Embiid play against the Nets?

Despite playing for that season-high in minutes against Boston, it appears that Embiid won’t push it further against Brooklyn on Sunday evening, as he’s been listed as out due to injury recovery.

His absence against the Nets will be his second of the season, as he sat out of Philadelphia’s match against the Orlando Magic in late October, for the same reason.

When he has played, the former MVP has been showing some shades of getting back to where he once was before last season, averaging 17.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while scoring 20 or more in three appearances thus far.

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

In the games or minutes that Embiid hasn’t been on the court, Nick Nurse has generally opted to use Adem Bona and Andre Drummond to fill in, but he’ll also have Johni Broome available, according to the Sixers’ injury report, despite being assigned to the team’s G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, earlier in the week.

Broome has yet to play this season, with his last appearance coming against the Orlando Magic in the preseason.

The Sixers take on the Nets on Sunday night, with tip-off at the Barclays Center slated for 6:00 p.m. EST.

This article first appeared on Philadelphia 76ers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: