The Philadelphia 76ers have been shorthanded for a while now. They have not had Joel Embiid after the Christmas games but have seen players like Tobias Harris and Kelly Oubre Jr. step up. There have been questions about his status for the final few games of the year. All of these concerns regarding the Sixers star's health status for the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls have now been answered.

Joel Embiid will be missing another two straight games. The Sixers will have to deal with the Bulls and Rockets without their Most Valuable Player frontrunner. He is currently experiencing a sprained right ankle. This prompts him to miss his third and fourth games after they squared off against the Toronto Raptors, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Sixers superstar rolled his ankle when they battled with the Raptors. Nick Nurse might be erring on the side of caution to prevent any more damage to their centerpiece. This might also be the right time for other players in the system to get more playing time.

Tyrese Maxey has stepped up and taken the mantle of the team's star. He put up 23 points along with grabbing six rebounds to lead the Sixers in their most recent win against the Orlando Magic. Tobias Harris also came into form with 22 points of his own while cleaning up the glass seven times. To round it out, Paul Reed has been a valuable asset in the center position. He notched a monster double-double with 15 points and 10 boards.

These two games will be rough dogfights for the Sixers but their depth has proven to be capable of these challenges.