Overview
- On Saturday the Sixers officially listed Joel Embiid out for Sunday’s 1 p.m. EST matinee against the Indiana Pacers for right foot plantar fascia injury management.
- LeBron James was not on the injury report and is expected to be available for Sunday, though the team will monitor his workload ahead of Monday’s road game in Brooklyn.
- Center depth is strained as Dominick Barlow and Adem Bona were also listed out and Ariel Hukporti remains sidelined for the season with a right Achilles tear.
- Philadelphia is treating Embiid’s absence as the front end of a back-to-back, a short-term, game-by-game load-management decision intended to limit aggravation of the plantar fascia.
- Indiana will be short-handed too, with Tyrese Haliburton out and other role players limited, which could shape how the Sixers distribute minutes and matchups during Embiid’s planned one-game rest.