Is Joel Embiid Playing Tonight vs the Mavericks? Injury Report (January 1st)

Joel Embiid’s fitness is always going to be subject to question marks, but after the showing against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, the Sixers fans have been rather hopeful. It would be some task, though, since Embiid’s next matchup will be against the likes of Anthony Davis and Cooper Flagg.

Embiid showed up in the 2nd half of the Sixers’ game against the Grizzlies and played a season-high 38 minutes. He admirably dealt with Jaren Jackson Jr. and ended up with 34 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 blocks.

He moved incredibly well and had more than enough in the tank to flourish in overtime. That said, if he does play, the Mavericks front duo of Flagg and Davis will provide him with a significantly more challenging battle. Depending on the kind of play Philadelphia engages in, Embiid will unlikely be able to hide against either of them. But all that can wait, since it will all depend on whether Embiid is feeling well enough to feature on January 1st.

Thankfully, the Philadelphia 76ers have listed Joel Embiid as Probable for New Year’s Day’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. It wouldn’t be presumptuous to assume that the ankle isn’t troubling him anymore. But the Sixers will still like to be careful in how they manage his workload.

It won’t exactly be a unique situation for them to deal with since they have done fairly well in preserving him all season. Embiid has featured in just 14 games, averaging 21.8 points, 6.5 boards, and 2.8 assists.

That said, during the win against the Grizzlies, the 7-foot star did indulge himself a bit, going for a crazy dunk that had fans rather worried. After fooling his defender with a fadeaway pump fake, the Sixers star stepped through, bounced the ball off the glass to himself, and followed it up by trying to dunk it with one hand.

As magnificent as that would have been, he was checked on the rim and fell in a rather dramatic fashion, which sent the Sixers fans on social media on a spiral.

If Embiid just shows up and doesn’t hurt himself against the Mavs, the Sixers will take that as a win. If he goes beyond that and repeats the kind of performance he came up with against Memphis … well, wouldn’t that be something to behold?