Aside from Joel Embiid’s absence, De’Anthony Melton and Robert Covington have both missed substantial time. Tyrese Maxey, Nicolas Batum, and Tobias Harris have all come in and out of the lineup. The results have been generally negative, but it’s difficult when you’re shifting the roster in a Process-like manner.
There was some good news coming out of Sixers practice on Sunday: Embiid was allowed to participate in some aspects.
“Joel was here today,” head coach Nick Nurse confirmed. “He was on the court.” He did some practice, but it was all non-contact. He’s now lifting weights. There is no timeline for his comeback.
The Sixers have kept Embiid’s probable comeback close to their chest.
When Embiid initially had the procedure done on his injured left meniscus back on Feb. 6, reports said he could be back in six-to-eight weeks. This Tuesday would put him at the six-week mark, however, a recent report from ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne poured a little cold water on the situation. According to Shelburne, Embiid is “not anywhere close” and the Sixers are hoping for him to return for the last week of the regular season.
With that said, any word of Embiid participating in any amount of practice is encouraging, especially given that the reigning MVP will need to establish chemistry with new teammates Kyle Lowry, Buddy Hield, and Cameron Payne.
Covington has been sidelined longer than Embiid, missing a game in 2024. He last played in a loss to the Bulls on December 30 and has missed the following 34 games due to a bone bruise in his left knee.
The veteran forward could be spotted getting shots up after practice and, like Embiid, was able to participate in some parts of practice for the first time in a while.
“It’s his first time back around (practice),” Nurse said. “He has been on the court a few days. He did get out and participate in parts of practice today. It’s a good step forward. Hopefully, it’ll keep going forward. That’s kind of the thing with him. Each day you’ve got to check to see how it responds to some court time — extended court time. He had a pretty long session yesterday, and it looks like they’re going at it again a little bit longer. He’s tolerating everything so far, so hopefully he keeps going.”
While Embiid and Covington are making progress, Harris and Melton remain out. Harris suffered a right ankle sprain in the fourth quarter against the Bucks Thursday and missed Saturday night’s game against the Hornets. As for Melton, who has been dealing with a back issue for months, he’s expected to be re-evaluated this Wednesday.
The Sixers are going to have work to do to integrate so many returning players back into the lineup. For now, the healthy players have to find a way to win — and that starts on the defensive end.
“When De’Anthony, RoCo, and Joel return, a lot of things will undoubtedly change,” stated veteran Nicolas Batum. “But there is one thing you cannot lose: your defense. Okay, the offense will most likely improve, but we cannot allow our defense to deteriorate, especially on attack. We’re missing three defensive players. So that is encouraging. When we add them, we can improve our defense still again. That’s something we’ll need in April.
