Doc Rivers expects Joel Embiid to be available in Sixers matchup vs. Magic

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid returned to the floor on Thursday after missing the team’s previous game due to a non-COVID illness. The big fella seemed to still be dealing with the effects of that illness as he had a tough night.

Embiid only finished with six points on 3-for-9 shooting with two rebounds and four turnovers in a loss to the Miami Heat on Thursday. That is a far cry from the regular stellar performances the MVP candidates continuously puts up.

As the team returns home on Friday to host the Orlando Magic on the second night of a back-to-back, coach Doc Rivers did say he expects Embiid to play despite him not looking like his normal self on Thursday.

“I’m assuming everybody’s fine for tomorrow,” said Rivers. “We wouldn’t have played him if he wasn’t 100%. Nobody played well so I would love to it was Joel or Ben (Simmons) or Tobias (Harris), but I thought we all were bad. We all looked like we were stuck in the mud tonight. No explanation for it, but that’s how it looked.”

The Sixers still have to get one more to win to clinch the No. 1 seed so there will be work to do on Friday. The Magic are a team that has been struggling mightily lately and they offer an opportunity for Philadelphia to get right, especially at home.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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