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The reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week will not appear in Monday night’s Sixers game against the Pistons.
Joel Embiid will miss the Sixers-Pistons miniseries finale with a strain on his back, the third game he has missed this season for that reason. He also escaped the Sixers’ Jan.16 loss to the Grizzlies with pain in his right knee. The Sixers entered Monday’s game 0-3 without their All-Star center and 12-5 on aggregate.
After the Sixers’ victory over the Celtics on Friday, Embiid said his back was “quite sore” after suffering a few brutal falls in the second half. However, he did finally play on Saturday, registering 33 points and 14 rebounds as the Sixers won their third straight game.
“He’s got a stiff back and we’ve obviously been through the season with everyone in good health,” said head coach Doc Rivers. “That’s what you should do.”
Rivers expects Embiid to play for the Sixers on Wednesday against the Lakers, although he’s not sure yet.
“Yeah, I wait, but I never know,” he said. “I don’t know if anyone knows that yet. We’ll wait and see.
Embiid scored 113 points from just 54 field goal attempts over the past week. He was extremely valuable on both sides of the pitch and impressed great substitute Dwight Howard.
“I’m so proud of his growth, his maturity on the pitch, the way he’s handled doubles, triples, fouls,” Howard said Monday after the Sixers shot. “He does an amazing job. One thing I see is a different dog in him. He dunk, he yells at people. He’s like, ‘No, this is my year.’
“I love what he does and I’m so proud of him. I just want him to keep playing at his own pace, staying humble and hungry. Those are the two biggest areas for him – staying humble and hungry – and he’s gonna be awesome. He’s already great, but I’m really happy for him. “
Howard, who averaged 13.6 points and 16.7 rebounds every 36 minutes before Monday’s game, said his preparation was the same in situations where Embiid is questionable leading to a whistleblower.
The 35-year-old also joked about the unusual game on Saturday night in which rookie Isaiah Stewart tore a piece of his shorts and Howard was the one sentenced for a foul.
“It’s no different,” Howard said. “My job is to come into the game and be physical, to get rebounds, to open up my guys, to bring in energy and bring pain. And on several occasions I have done rip off my shorts and I got (technical faults). “
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