The biggest storyline heading into the Philadelphia 76ers' second-round matchup against the Atlanta Hawks is the health of Sixers superstar Joel Embiid. The All-Star big man suffered a small lateral meniscus tear in his right knee, which has put his status in doubt for the Hawks series.
As it turns out, however, Embiid is good to go for Sunday's opening matchup between these two teams. Or at least this is according to Sixers big man Dwight Howard:
“(Embiid) looked good,” Howard said after Friday's practice, via Bucks Country Courier Times' Tom Moore. “His movement looked good laterally. I think he should be ready to go, (but) we don't want to rush him back. … He looked like his old self.”
Embiid was reportedly a light participant in Friday's practice, and while he was not able to do too much, the fact that he was out there with his teammates bodes well for his chances of suiting up for Sunday's bout.
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers also talked about Embiid's status after Friday's practice, but at this point, he does not appear to be as confident as Howard is:
“Yeah, he went through a lot of the stuff today,” Rivers said, via Justin Grasso of FanNation. “I mean, he didn’t do a lot of live stuff obviously, we’re not gonna allow that yet, and so nothing’s changed. You know, he’s gotta go through his treatment. As far as when we’re doing shooting and stuff like that, he looked great.”
When asked point black if he thinks Embiid will be able to take the floor in Game 1, Rivers was non-committal:
“It’s too early [to tell if he'll play or not],” said Rivers. “I don’t want to say one way or the other. It’s just too early. So, we’ll just find that out.”
Dwight Howard is not a doctor, and we need to take his prediction here with a grain of salt. However, he's been around the game enough to be able to have a good feel for these types of injuries. Embiid playing in Game 1 is anything but a certainty at this point, but the signs appear to be looking good for the Sixers.
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