Is Joel Embiid playing tonight against Portland Trail Blazers? Latest injury update from Philadelphia Sixers (October 29)

The Philadelphia 76ers will host the Portland Trail Blazers in their first home game of the season. Joel Embiid had a difficult game against the Milwaukee Bucks in the team's season opener. But he made a strong comeback against the Toronto Raptors in the second game. Meanwhile, Tyrese Maxey has been nothing short of spectacular for the 76ers in their first two games of the season.

However, there's a chance that Joel Embiid might not be playing in tonight's home opener versus the Trail Blazers. Following their game against the Raptors in Canada last night, Embiid's status is marked as questionable on the NBA injury report, primarily due to rest.

On the other hand, James Harden continues to remain away from the team to make an effort to get traded. The former league MVP was a no-show for the 76ers throughout the preseason. Moreover, Harden has not featured in the first two games of the season and is expected to remain away from the team for the third consecutive game this season.

The Sixers are set to take on a struggling Blazers team, who are in the midst of a rebuilding phase. The Trail Blazers are being led by standout talents such as Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Deandre Ayton this season after they traded Damian Lillard to the Bucks ahead of the preseason.

Notably, the Trail Blazers also include former Sixers Matisse Thybulle and Jerami Grant in their roster. However, Portland will be missing the services of Anfernee Simons, Ish Wainright, and Duop Reath for the upcoming matchup.

Joel Embiid talks about the 2023-24 season

The Philadelphia 76ers center is the reigning league MVP. Embiid revealed his aspirations of taking his game to another level and becoming a better playmaker ahead of the new season. 'The Process' in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, said:

“Make those passes and making it easy for everyone else. I think, this whole year, that’s going to be my big focus — to just try to get as many assists and trying to get my teammates involved as much as possible. … I never liked just being an [isolation] player. I don’t think that’s the right way to play, and I don’t feel that’s the right way to win. I like this system.”

The 7-foot center was drafted 3rd overall by the 76ers in the 2014 NBA draft. In his MVP-winning 2022-23 season, Joel Embiid averaged an astounding 33.1 points, 4.2 assists and 10.2 rebounds per game.