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Philadelphia 76ers C Joel Embiid has been cleared for non-contact drills at practice but isn’t expected to return quite yet.
Embiid is progressing well and cleared to do non-contact conditioning drills. sixers say they expect to have another update in about a week
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) January 16, 2020
While Embiid is doing fine, he’ll likely be held out another week, which was in line with his original timeline of 1-2 weeks after tearing ligaments in his finger that required surgery. Embiid dislocated his finger on Jan. 6 against the Oklahoma City Thunder and returned to the game. He has missed the past four games for the Sixers, who had lost two straight before defeating the Nets on Wednesday night.
Fantasy Basketball analysis: Philadelphia 76ers C Joel Embiid
With Embiid out another week, we should see Ben Simmons strong play continue. In the past four games sans Embiid, Simmons is averaging 18.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game while shooting 58.9 percent from the field. We should also see Matisse Thybulle get more minutes in the frontcourt. The rookie has played extremely well on defense and is averaging 23.3 minutes per game in Embiid’s absence.