October 26, 2019
Joel Embiid is out for Saturday's Sixers game vs. the Detroit Pistons due to a sprained right ankle, team spokesman Dave Sholler told PhillyVoice on Saturday morning.
Embiid was a limited participant in Philadelphia's shootaround on the road in Detroit, and was still feeling discomfort in the ankle, prompting the Sixers to hold him out of Saturday's game.
Philadelphia's starting center will continue to receive treatment on the ankle throughout Saturday and Sunday, and the team will see how his ankle responds from there before making a determination on his availability for Monday's game against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Sixers prepared for Embiid's absence by bringing two-way player Norvel Pelle on the road trip with them, who was originally scheduled to stay behind for player development work and then report to G-League camp with the Delaware Blue Coats on Monday. The Sixers players all know how important Embiid is to the team, but they are prepared to go and win a game without him.
"We want those guys to get healthy, but if they're unable to go and we're shorthanded, we'll get added resources from our bench and from other guys to be able to step up and have an opportunity," Tobias Harris said at practice on Friday. "We got so much talent, we just got to fill somebody in and let's roll with it."
The Sixers signed Al Horford in the offseason for this very reason, amongst others, and with Blake Griffin on the shelf for the Pistons, this remains a winnable game for Philly.
Brett Brown did not reveal his plans for changes in the starting lineup at shootaround on Saturday, so we'll have to wait and see who gets their first chance to step in for Embiid. Matisse Thybulle will probably be the popular choice with fans, though in the preseason, Brown's preference appeared to be to keep the bench unit intact and keep their other rotations as "normal" as possible. We will all find out at his pregame availability prior to Saturday's game.
Philadelphia did get a slight boost on the injury report on Saturday morning, with Mike Scott upgraded to probable for the game vs. Detroit.
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