The Philadelphia 76ers, unfortunately, will be playing without Joel Embiid on Thursday night. The superstar big man was officially ruled out of Game 3 of his team's first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets just minutes before tipoff, after initially being labeled a game-time decision due to nagging left knee pain.

Following the news of his absence going public, Embiid spoke with reporters, shedding light on the frustration inevitably associated with tendonitis.

“It’s tough. That’s what tendinitis is all about,” he said, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin. “And some days you got your days and some other days is different. So even in the games that I play I just try to go out there and try to play for these guys. I try to help us win the series and eliminate them. So whatever, whatever I can do. But it’s hard. I just got to keep pushing it and see how I do.”

Joel Embiid was also a game-time decision for the first two contests of this series, in both of which he ended up playing. He missed five of the last seven games of the regular season due to nagging soreness in his left knee, a malady that kept him out of eight straight games in late February and early March. Embiid, sidelined for the first two seasons of his career due to injury, suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee in February of his rookie season, an injury that eventually required arthroscopic surgery.

A two-time reigning All-Star starter, Embiid struggled in Game 1, but rebounded in a big way two days later, helping the Sixers to a blowout victory by scoring 20 points in just 23 minutes of play. Journeyman big man Greg Monroe is starting in his place on Thursday night.