Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been ruled out of the team’s regular-season finale against the visiting Brooklyn Nets on Sunday afternoon.
Embiid (left knee injury recovery) joins guard De’Anthony Melton (back) and forward KJ Martin (toe) in sitting out for the 76ers (46-35), who currently occupy the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia, however, sports the same record as the fifth-seeded Orlando Magic and sixth-seeded Indiana Pacers, and results from Sunday’s games for the three teams will determine which two advance to the playoffs and which team must try to move on to the postseason via the play-in tournament.
The top six teams in each conference automatically qualify for the postseason.
Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP, is averaging 34.7 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.7 blocks in 39 games (all starts) this season.
Melton is chipping in 11.1 points, 3.7 boards, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals in 38 games (33 starts) this season.
Martin is contributing 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 58 games (two starts) this season.
–Field Level Media