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Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid appears to be getting close to returning.
The Sixers posted a picture of the reigning NBA MVP taking part in Thursday’s practice session.
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John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia noted Embiid will travel with the team when they play five of their next six games on the road, starting Friday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Head coach Nick Nurse told reporters prior to Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers “there’s a very good likelihood” Embiid would return before the end of the regular season.
Embiid’s status for the rest of the season has been uncertain since he had knee surgery on Feb. 6. He suffered a meniscus injury in the fourth quarter of Philadelphia’s 118-102 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 30.
The Sixers announced at the time that Embiid would be re-evaluated in four weeks. Nurse told reporters prior to a March 12 game against the New York Knicks he was doing some on-court work.
Philadelphia has been trying to keep its head above water without Embiid. The team is 13-26 in 39 games without him. It was the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference as recently as Jan. 29.
Since losing to the Warriors in the game Embiid was injured, the 76ers have fallen to eighth in the East standings. They aren’t in any danger of falling out of the play-in tournament with a four-game lead over the ninth-place Chicago Bulls, but their path into the playoffs looks very arduous even if they get their superstar center back.
Embiid was playing even better this season than during his MVP campaign in 2022-23 prior to the injury. He was averaging a career-high 35.3 points and 5.7 assists per game in 34 starts.
Paul Reed has done a decent job since taking over as the primary center while Embiid has been out of action. He is averaging 7.1 points and 5.9 rebounds in 73 appearances.
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