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The Philadelphia 76ers have ruled Joel Embiid out for Monday's game against the Detroit Pistons.
The Sixers are riding a three-game winning streak, and they hope to extend that dominance and complete a two-game sweep of the Pistons on the road. However, they will have to do so without their star big man who is struggling with back soreness.
Embiid admitted after Friday’s win over the Boston Celtics that he was sore and was dealing with some lingering effects in Saturday’s win over the Pistons. Coming into Monday, he was listed as questionable before being completely ruled out by the Sixers.
Joel Embiid is out tonight
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) January 25, 2021
Joel Embiid scored 33 points with 14 boards against Detroit over the weekend after combining for 80 points in back-to-back wins over the Celtics.
Currently, the assumption is that Dwight Howard will get the start as he has in the other instances when Embiid has missed a game.
With the Sixers still missing Vincent Poirier–who is currently in the league’s health and safety protocol–the team will have to turn to Tony Bradley to be the backup to Howard. Philly will also need Ben Simmons to make up for Embiid’s production. In their last matchup against the Pistons, Simmons was able to be the aggressor, visiting the charity stripe 12 times and converting on 10 of those 12 attempts.
On a more pressing matter, the Sixers are set to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday at home. For that matchup, it is in the Sixers' best interest to have Embiid back and close to full strength with Anthony Davis coming to town.