Joel Embiid cleared from injury, rejoins 76ers' active lineup

Joel Embiid returned to the Philadelphia 76ers’ starting lineup Sunday night for Game 4 against the Boston Celtics, 17 days after an emergency appendectomy in Houston. (espn.com) (apnews.com) Philadelphia had listed Embiid as doubtful for both Game 3 and Game 4, upgraded him to questionable a little more than an hour before tipoff, and cleared him about 30 minutes before the game. (espn.com) He reclaimed his usual center spot from Adem Bona and entered a series the Celtics led 2-1 after the teams split the first two games in Boston and Philadelphia won Game 3 at home. (espn.com) (nba.com) The return came fast for a player the 76ers said was out indefinitely on April 10 after surgery for appendicitis. Embiid had started a strength-and-conditioning program in Philadelphia last Monday and returned to portions of practice before getting cleared Sunday. (nba.com) (espn.com) Embiid’s availability changed Philadelphia’s rotation immediately because the Sixers had opened Game 4 with Bona at center in his absence. Boston also had to prepare for Embiid post-ups, pick-and-pop actions and rim protection after three games without him. (espn.com) (nba.com) Before the injury, Embiid had played 38 games this season and averaged 26.9 points and 7.7 rebounds. His postseason history has also included a knee sprain in 2023, fractured orbital bones in 2022 and 2018, a meniscus injury in 2021 and Bell’s palsy during the 2024 first round. (espn.com) Game 4 also opened with Kelly Oubre Jr. available after he had been listed as questionable with right adductor soreness, giving Nick Nurse a healthier group than he had for most of the week. (sports.yahoo.com) The immediate question now is workload. ESPN reported before tipoff that it remained unclear how much Embiid would be able to play after missing seven straight games and returning less than three weeks after abdominal surgery. (espn.com)