76ers Injury Report: Why Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey Could Miss Tonight vs the Trail Blazers?

The Philadelphia 76ers have been one of the kingpins in the Eastern Conference this season. Joel Embiid having a historic scoring season and Tyrese Maxey’s incredible rise are the primary reasons they sit third in the standings. The reigning MVP has been the punisher, averaging a career-best 36 points per game. Maxey and Tobias Harris have taken turns to be the second options to Embiid on any given night. However, what happens if you take them all out?

The update for tonight is concerning for the Philadelphia 76ers fans. Embiid has been listed as questionable against the Trail Blazers. Maxey and Harris have the same status. The Sixers have barely had such a situation where they have played without their top three scoring threats. Journalist Sean Highkin took to X and wrote, “FYI, the Sixers are listing Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris all as “questionable” for tomorrow.”

So tonight, the Sixers will play against the Portland Trail Blazers, the 14th seed in the West, without their top three players. We got the first taste of Philly without their top three stars when they faced a healthy Denver Nuggets two days ago. Nikola Jokic dominated the game. The defending champions didn’t worry much and systematically used their plays to always keep the Sixers at a safe distance.

The hecklers were out in the Nuggets’ arena as Embiid walked in wearing street clothes. The bitter fans had posters that said the big man ‘was missing’ at the contest against Jokic; a man he has competed with for the MVP honor in the past four seasons. And the Sixers big man, with a smile on his face, embraced the scrutiny and even relished it in at one point.

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Why are Embiid, Maxey, and Harris missing?

It was a last-minute decision after the Sixers’ medical team didn’t like the idea of Embiid suiting up with his left knee soreness. In fact, leading up to the Nuggets game, Embiid was not listed on any of the pregame injury reports. The player was determined to play in Denver for the first time since 2019 but was pulled down by the medical staff because of his limited movement. As a result, he might not be fit to play against the Blazers. Additionally, Tyrese Maxey also sat on the bench as he dealt with an ankle-related injury. Now Harris is battling an illness and hence, won’t be available.

The trio produces 61.4 points per contest for the franchise, the most as a three-man lineup. Without them, the best-scoring lineup has only generated 18.7 and played only 12 of the games together. They have an absurd 3-8 record when missing the services of the ever-commanding Joel Embiid.

What we saw against the Nuggets was the lack of a ‘go-to’ guy when their foundation trio didn’t play the game. Despite having a poor record without their stars, the Sixers can be somewhat hopeful considering they are facing Portland, a team with the second-worst record in their conference. Philly will start with Patrick Beverley, Kelly Oubre Jr., Paul Reed, Marcus Morris Sr., and Nicolas Batum.

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