Joel Embiid didn’t travel to Indiana with Sixers to face Pacers
Embiid needs to play in two of the Sixers’ remaining three regular-season games for his statistics to qualify for season rankings.
INDIANAPOLIS — Joel Embiid did not travel with the 76ers for Tuesday night’s game with the Indiana Pacers, according to league sources.
The team will complete the two-game road trip Thursday against the Miami Heat at the AmericanAirlines Arena.
Embiid was listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game with a non-COVID-19 related illness. But coach Doc Rivers said during his pregame availability that Embiid and reserves Furkan Korkmaz and Matisse Thybulle would not play.
» READ MORE: When the Sixers’ playoff run begins, who plays and who doesn’t? This is a good week to start finding out.
Thybulle is sidelined with soreness in his left hand. This marked the fourth game Korkmaz has missed with a sprained right ankle.
For Embiid, this was the 20th game he has missed this season because of injuries, sickness, and rest. He’s ranked third in the NBA is scoring (29.2 points per game), 10th in rebounds (10.7) and 11th in blocks (1.4).
Embiid has played in 71.0% of the Sixers’ 69 games this season. A player has to compete in 70% of his team’s games for his statistics qualify for league rankings. As a result, Embiid needs to play in two of the Sixers’ remaining three regular-season games to be included in the final rankings.
After facing the Heat on Thursday, the Sixers will conclude the regular season at home against the Orlando Magic on Friday and Sunday.
Korkmaz participated in drills before Tuesday’s game.
Sixers sign forward Clark to a two-way deal
Gary Clark became the newest Sixer. The team signed the forward to a two-way deal on Tuesday. That came after the Sixers waived two-way player Mason Jones on Thursday.
Clark played a total of 37 games this season with the Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets.
The 6-foot-6, 225-pounder averaged 3.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 18.2 minutes in 35 games, including 11 starts, with the Magic. He was traded to the Nuggets along with Aaron Gordon on March 25. Clark played a total of four minutes in two appearances in Denver before being waived on April 8.
This is the 26-year-old’s third NBA season.
» READ MORE: When the Sixers’ playoff run begins, who plays and who doesn’t? This is a good week to start finding out.
The move reunites Clark with Daryl Morey, the Sixers’ president of basketball operations. Clark played a total of 69 games over the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons for Houston under Morey, then a longtime Rockets general manger. The Rockets waived him on Jan. 7, 2020.