The NBA fined the Philadelphia 76ers $100,000 on Friday for violating the league’s harm reporting guidelines after Joel Embiid’s return to the courtroom Tuesday evening.
Embiid, who had been listed as out for Tuesday’s recreation for twenty-four hours, was abruptly upgraded to questionable simply earlier than 76ers coach Nick Nurse spoke round 5:45 p.m. earlier than the house recreation in opposition to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder. Embiid then was declared obtainable and positioned into the beginning lineup at 7 p.m.
The league mentioned that Philadelphia’s historical past with fines for violating harm reporting guidelines was taken into consideration.
Two years in the past, Philadelphia was fined $50,000 for Embiid returning to the courtroom in an identical method for Recreation 3 of the second-round playoff sequence in opposition to the Miami Warmth when, like this week, Embiid was additionally coming back from a knee harm.
With Embiid on the courtroom after lacking greater than eight weeks following a process on the lateral meniscus in his left knee, Philadelphia not solely beat Oklahoma Metropolis Tuesday, but in addition received Thursday in Miami. The 76ers now have an alternative to get into the sixth spot within the Jap Convention standings and keep away from the play-in video games.
Coming into Friday evening, ESPN’s Basketball Energy Index has the three groups battling for the sixth, seventh and eight spots — Philadelphia, Miami and the Indiana Pacers — all projected to complete with 46 wins.
Philadelphia’s victory over Miami meant the tiebreaker will go to higher convention document, as the 2 groups cut up their 4 video games this season. Indiana, nevertheless, holds the tiebreaker and has an opportunity to clinch it over Miami with a win in opposition to the Warmth on Sunday.
Embiid has been impactful in his two video games again, scoring 24 factors — together with getting the game-clinching steal and hitting the successful free throws — in opposition to the Thunder. He completed with 29 factors in 32 minutes in Thursday’s win in Miami.
Embiid is unlikely to play each Saturday in Memphis and Sunday in San Antonio to finish Philadelphia’s closing street journey. The workforce is anticipated to offer him one-half of the that back-to-back off as he continues his restoration. With no setbacks, he’d be in place to play every of the ultimate three video games of the common season subsequent week at dwelling in opposition to the Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets.
