Center Joel Embiid sits out Sixers practice; will he play vs. Ben Simmons and the Nets?

“Take him, J. Love!” coach Doc Rivers hollered at 76ers skill development coach Jason Love as he dribbled the ball near the top of the key with Joel Embiid defending him.

That is perhaps the most basketball work Embiid got on Tuesday. The All-NBA big man did not participate in the team portion of practice while continuing to nurse his left foot, Rivers said, putting in question his anticipated matchup against Ben Simmons when the Sixers face the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center. For now, Embiid is officially listed as questionable.

Embiid missed Saturday’s win at Sacramento with “injury recovery,” after sitting out three games with foot soreness earlier this month. Rivers characterized Tuesday’s practice as mostly skeleton and walk-through work, before Embiid went through light shooting and scrimmaging with assistant Sam Cassell and the player-development staff following the formal team session. Embiid sat on the floor under the basket for a few minutes after his workout.

”It’s day to day,” Rivers said of Embiid’s status. “We’ll see how he progresses. … It’s the same thing [as before], and we just want to make sure it’s right. If it’s right, he plays. If it’s not, we wait another game and see where he’s at.”

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Embiid and Simmons have not yet shared the court since Simmons’ fallout with his former team that led to last season’s blockbuster deadline trade that brought the Sixers perennial All-Star guard James Harden. Simmons did not play in the first Sixers-Nets game since the deal last March because of a back injury, while Embiid rested the Sixers’ preseason game against the Nets and then sat out the Nov. 22 meeting in Philly with a sprained foot. The Sixers and Nets will play in Brooklyn on Feb. 11 and April 9.

Embiid has been playing like an MVP contender when healthy, tying Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić as the NBA’s leading scorer (33.6 points per game) entering Tuesday and adding 9.8 rebounds, a career-high-tying 4.2 assists and 1.7 blocks per game. He has missed 12 of the Sixers’ 46 games due to injury or illness.

If Embiid does not play Wednesday, Montrezl Harrell and P.J. Tucker are contenders to start at center and Paul Reed would be in line for more minutes.

Harden, who also missed Saturday’s win at the Kings with right foot tendon injury management, was shooting and playfully going one-on-one against Tyrese Maxey following Tuesday’s practice.

Maxey’s move to the bench has naturally been a prominent Sixers story line for the past week.

Yet the lineup switch has also been a readjustment for De’Anthony Melton. After initially being pegged as the team’s sixth man following last summer’s draft-night trade, Melton slid into the starting lineup for nearly two months while Maxey and/or Harden were out with foot injuries. Melton then briefly moved back to a reserve role when the backcourt health replenished before returning to the first unit.

Melton naturally relishes when he is tasked with guarding the opponent’s best perimeter player as a starter, calling it a “privilege” and “honestly what I came in the league to do.” He entered Tuesday still ranked among the NBA’s leaders in deflections (3.4 per game, tied for seventh) and steals (1.9 per game, tied for fifth).

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When asked how he is fitting in offensively while sharing the floor with Embiid, Harden, and Tobias Harris, though, Melton’s hesitation signaled that it’s still a work in progress.

“Those dudes, they draw so much attention,” Melton said. “Just down the line, they’re all known for what they do. So it’s just adapting to their game and figuring out where my game can fit in.

“But at the same time, understanding what my game is and being aggressive in that instance [in a way] that I’ll feel like [will be] beneficial for the team, also.”

Melton enters Wednesday against the Nets averaging a career-best 10.9 points per game while shooting 39% on a career-high 5.8 three-point attempts per game. Rivers believed Melton was fatigued during an eight-game stretch when he failed to reach double digits in scoring and shot 10 of 35 (29%) from long range — with several of those misses hitting the front of the rim. In Saturday’s win at the Kings, however, Melton scored 14 points on 2 of 4 from three-point range (and 4 of 8 overall) with 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

“He does whatever you need him to do,” Rivers said. " … Now you can feel him getting his energy back. Defensively, he has not wavered. He’s been absolutely wonderful.”

Many Sixers players and staff have naturally become invested in the Eagles’ quest for a Super Bowl title. The Eagles’ shellacking of the New York Giants was on the television in the Sixers’ training room before tipoff in Sacramento last Saturday. Rivers then wore the “It’s a Philly thing” T-shirt to his postgame news conference.

That continued a Sixers season which also has overlapped with the Phillies’ World Series run and the Union’s appearance in the MLS Cup Final. Though the Sixers’ postseason opportunity won’t arrive until April, they are currently playing some of the best basketball in the NBA with 18 wins in their last 22 games.

And they have definitely felt the buzz the other local teams have injected into the city during the past few months.

“They’re putting pressure on us, huh?” Melton said. “Even from my short time being here in Philly, I understand how passionate and how ambitious the fans are. The Phillies did really good this year and the Eagles are still going, so everybody’s looking at us. We’re ready. This is where we want to be. … We’ve got to keep fighting, keep riding the wave”

Added reserve guard Shake Milton: “Philly fans are some of the greatest in the world, just the type of energy they carry and how passionate they are. It’s definitely inspiring. Every time I know, for us, when we touch the court, it’s like, ‘Yo, we’ve got to bring it.’ Otherwise, we’re going to hear about it. They’re going to let us know. So it’s something I definitely appreciate. It’s like they put that battery in your back.”