The Philadelphia 76ers have announced that All-Star center Joel Embiid is officially listed as Doubtful for tomorrow night's Game 3 in Miami.
ESPN reported that the Sixers are optimistic Embiid will return to the lineup during their trip to Miami, but it's unlikely that will come Thursday night. There's still a possibility he makes his return for Game 4 on Saturday afternoon.
Embiid, who hasn't played since suffering a broken orbital bone and concussion on March 28, expressed frustration about not being cleared to play following Game 2 on Monday night. "Fucking sick and tired of being babied," read a post on Embiid's IG story shortly after the Heat picked up a 113-103 victory to tie up the series at 1-1.
When asked about his post-game remarks, Embiid told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne: "I promised the city the playoffs and I'm not on the court and I may not be on Thursday either. I wish more than anything that I was out there. I just want the green light to play."
Sixers head coach Brett Brown sympathized with Embiid after being told of the IG post, telling reporters the comments are "born out of him wanting to be with his team."
"He just wants to play basketball. He wants to be with his team. He wants to play in front of the fans, and he wants to see this through," Brown said, according to ESPN. "And when he's not able to do that, he gets frustrated, and we respect his frustration. It's born out of competitiveness, and it's born out of him wanting to be with his team."
Game 3 between the Sixers and Heat will air on TNT tomorrow night at 7pm ET.
