Brett Brown: Joel Embiid not ‘that far away’ from playing

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown insists how the team is handling Joel Embiid’s recovery from a broken orbital bone stems from a “very unified effort” involving the team’s medical staff and even Embiid’s own people.

“It’s still moving forward,” Brown said before Tuesday’s practice, via ESPN. “What I can say is there is a very unified effort with his representation and the people around him. With the people that did the operation, the doctors, with our medical staff, with the team, with me, the coaching staff. We’re all doing this. There’s a unified sort of spirit and line of communication.”

The developments on the Embiid front of course come amid the backdrop of the young Sixers star having something of a social media meltdown in the wake of Monday’s 113-103 loss in Game 2 that evened up the series at one game apiece.

Embiid took to Instagram after the game and posted in a story that he was “(expletive) sick and tired of being babied.”

Embiid later explained his social media commentary.

“I promised the city the playoffs and I’m not on the court and I may not be on Thursday either,” Embiid told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. “I wish more than anything that I was out there. I just want the green light to play.”

Sources have informed Shelburne that Embiid still has to clear some medical hurdles before returning from surgery. That said, it’s believed Embiid will make an appearance in the 76ers’ first-round showdown with the Heat when the teams are in Miami. However, it’s unclear whether that will occur in Game 3 on Thursday.

Embiid, however, is expected to practice with the team in some capacity on Tuesday.

“We’ll get up and down and do some script stuff,” Brown said. “It’s progressing. When that ultimately leads to an answer — he’s playing — I don’t believe is that far away. But we’ll learn more over the next 48 hours I suspect.”