Joel Embiid was a late scratch on Sunday against the Cavaliers because of back tightness, though coach Doc Rivers cautioned that it’s nothing to worry about.
“He was actually planning on going and went out on the floor,” Rivers told FortyEightMinutes and other media after the 118-94 loss to the Cavs. “He had some stiffness in his back, and we just thought, why chance it this early in the season. Nothing to be concerned about.”
Embiid has essentially been held out of back-to-backs since coming into the league. In his absence, Dwight Howard received his first start of the season but was limited to just 15 minutes of playing time. The Cavaliers got out to a pretty substantial lead early in part because of turnover issues (22 of them), leading Rivers to limited the minutes for all of his starters.
“I thought our spacing was bad,” Rivers said. “I want Ben to attack the basket, but I also want him to make plays and have a good balance. We won two games, but we just didn’t play well tonight.”
More From Philadelphia
- Furkan Korkmaz will miss at least two weeks with a left adductor strain, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays. Through the first three games of the season, Korkmaz averaged 6.0 points in 18.3 minutes per game (including the loss to the Cavs where he suffered the injury.
- With Korkmaz out, expect Matisse Thybulle, who has seen just a total of 15 minutes of court time so far this year, to get more run in the coming weeks.
- The Sixers exercised Thybulle’s third-year option on Monday, per Pompey. The move was expected.
- Ben Simmons is now 12-0 in his career vs. the Knicks after Saturday’s win in New York. The All-Star said it was completely different playing at Madison Square Garden with no fans (via zoom after the contest).
- What’s next? Philadelphia takes on the Tampa Bay Raptors at home on Tuesday. Embiid is expected to return for that one.
Read More
- Sixers team president Daryl Morey fined for James Harden tweet.
- Nets lose Spencer Dinwiddie for the season.
- Cavaliers are 3-0. Amico’s latest dribbles.
