Joel Embiid was listed as doubtful for Game 4 against the Celtics on Sunday night in Philadelphia, leaving the 76ers without clarity on whether their center would be available 17 days after emergency appendectomy surgery. The game tipped off at 7 p.m. ET at Xfinity Mobile Arena, and Philadelphia listed Embiid as doubtful for a second straight game.
Nick Nurse said Saturday that Embiid had been working hard and doing individual on-court work, but the coach stopped short of giving a firm answer. “Maybe we’ll know more towards the end of shootaround tomorrow,” Nurse said at 76ers practice, a line that matched the uncertainty around a player who had been eyeing a return after surgery. Kelly Oubre Jr. was also listed questionable with right adductor soreness.
The timing mattered because Embiid was coming back from an operation that forced him out on April 9, and the numbers only sharpened the issue. He averaged 26.9 points and 7.7 rebounds in 38 regular-season games for Philadelphia, production the 76ers are built around when he is healthy. The average time lost for in-season surgery is 23 days, so the center was already close to that mark even before Game 4 began.
That was the tension for the Celtics as much as for Philadelphia. Boston had a completely clean injury report for Game 4 and entered the night at full strength, while the 76ers were still waiting on Embiid’s status and trying to gauge how much he could give them if he did return. Neemias Queta, speaking for a Celtics team that could only prepare for what was certain, said Embiid is “one of the best players the last couple of years,” adding that he was “not really worried about that yet, nothing confirmed about it yet,” and that “until then, we’re worried about what’s confirmed.” Queta also said Embiid “can make them a lot better” and that Boston would “embrace the challenge if he comes.”
For Philadelphia, the question was no longer whether Embiid would eventually come back. It was whether the 76ers had pushed fast enough to get him on the floor before the series situation hardened without him.
