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NBA Insider Makes Positive Joel Embiid Prediction for 76ers vs. Bucks

NBA Insider Makes Positive Joel Embiid Prediction for 76ers vs. Bucks

The Philadelphia 76ers face a familiar question before their season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks: Will Joel Embiid get the nod to play?

The All-Star center has not commented publicly since the team’s training camp in the Bahamas. At this point, Embiid did not participate in the scrimmage.

When asked about the center’s status, head coach Nick Nurse claims it is unknown at this time.

Joel Embiid during the Olympic run.

July 10, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; USA forward Joel Embiid (11) and forward Anthony Davis (14) laugh together on the bench during the fourth quarter against Canada in the USA Basketball Showcase at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images / Candice Ward-Imagn Images

ESPN NBA insider Tim Bontemps suspects that Embiid’s string of absences during the preseason is simply part of the master plan to manage Embiid’s health during the 2024-2025 NBA season.

In the latest episode of the Hoop CollectiveBontemps reported that Embiid was “not injured” but expected the former MVP to play on Wednesday against the Milwaukee Bucks.

“Like last year, he played a preseason game at the end of the preseason and basically did the same thing, but apart from just getting ready for the start of the year and getting ready to start. “Like I said, he looks physical looks great and has lost a lot of weight. From everything I’ve heard, it seems like things looked good when he was on the court.” about LibertyBallers.

The Sixers have been wary of Embiid in the past, but this year there’s a different mentality than the center himself. As much as he wants to play every game, another surgery on the center last year was enough to change his mind about how he should deal with injury management.

At that point, Embiid missed all of the Sixers’ training camps and six preseason games. He’s not out of the question against the Bucks, and if Bontemps guesses correctly, the star center could be back on the floor Wednesday night for the first time since Team USA’s gold medal game against France in July.