Will Joel Embiid be Ready to Return for Game 3?

Sixers All-Star center Joel Embiid has not played in either of the two games of the teams second-round series against the Miami Heat after Raptors forward Pascal Siakam's elbow connected with his face in Round 1.

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Embiid suffered a right orbital fracture and a mild concussion, however he is progressing well and there is 'real hope' that he will be ready to play in Friday's Game 3 in Philadelphia according to John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Clark reports that Embiid wants to play in Game 3 and is expected to practice on Thursday and if all goes well, we could see the big man back on the court.

Without Embiid, the Sixers have struggled to rebound and defend the paint with DeAndre Jordan and Paul Reed seeing most of the minutes in the middle. Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo has scored 47 points, 21 rebounds against the combination of Jordan and Reed.

So will Embiid be back on Friday?

“I really don’t know,” Rivers said after Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Without or without Embiid, the Sixers are going to have to shoot the ball better.  The team is a combined 14 for 64 from three-point range in this series against Miami.

So can Embiid fix the shooting woes? Well he could take the load off many of the shooters, by scoring himself, plus by drawing plenty of double-teams, giving shooters better and long looks at the basket.

Chris Haynes, who was part of the broadcast team on TNT on Wednesday night, reported during the game that Embiid was feeling better, but mentioned that Embiid had not been able to use his cell phone because the light was causing problems