The injury bug has not been kind to the Philadelphia 76ers this season, especially for the likes of star players Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Josh Richardson.
Although Simmons is still expected to be out for the foreseeable future, it looks very likely that Richardson and Embiid will both be back on the court for Wednesday night’s game at home in Philly.
Joel Embiid has been marked as questionable for Wednesday after missing the last five games with a shoulder sprain that he suffered on Feb. 26 against the Cavaliers. With Embiid away from the court, Philly went 2-3 in the five-game span. Unfortunately for the All-Star center, injuries have plagued his entire career and this season has been no different. Embiid has missed 21 games this season due to a finger injury, this shoulder problem, and load management. With Embiid on the bench, the 76ers hold an 11-10 record.
Josh Richardson has officially been cleared to play on Wednesday after suffering a concussion on March 1 against the Clippers. He has missed a total of three games due to the concussion and with him off the floor, the Sixers were 1-3. Richardson, who is generally regarded as a healthy player, has missed 17 games this season, including 14 of those games due to a nagging hamstring problem.
Both Embiid and Richardson participated in Tuesday’s practice. Head coach Brett Brown is optimistic that both players will be back in the lineup on Wednesday night.
Despite dealing with all of the injury issues this season, Philadelphia is still in control of the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture and is only one game back of Indiana for the No. 5 position.
With the returns of Embiid and Richardson to the lineup, the 76ers are in need of a winning streak so they can gain momentum and move a few spots up in the playoff standings to earn home-court advantage for postseason play. Home court for the Sixers could mean an easy march into the second round as Philadelphia holds an NBA-best 28-2 record when playing in Philadelphia.
