Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid may be listed as doubtful on the injury report, but according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Embiid is actually a game-time decision for Game 4 of his team's first-round Eastern Conference playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday afternoon.
Embiid has been dealing with knee tendinitis and missed Game 3 on Thursday evening, although the Sixers did just fine without him, coming away with a 16-point win.
The All-Star originally began experiencing pain in his knee during the middle of the season, but played a few weeks with the ailment before Philadelphia finally began getting him some rest after the All-Star break.
It was clear that Embiid was hobbled in Game 1 of this series, going just 5-of-15 from the floor and missing all five of his three-point attempts. In addition, he also looked very limited defensively.
He looked much better in Game 2, totaling 23 points and 10 rebounds while making eight of his 12 shots in a victory, but, as is par for the course with tendinitis, you feel better on some days than others.
With the Sixers owning a 2-1 edge over the Nets in this series, there isn't much of a sense of urgency for Embiid to play in Game 4, so if he at all feels compromised, he would probably be better off getting the extra rest.
On the season, Embiid averaged 27.5 points, 13.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists over 33.7 minutes per game while shooting 48.4 percent from the floor and 30 percent from long distance.
He made his second straight All-Star appearance as a result.
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