Is Joel Embiid playing in Sixers Play-In game against Miami Heat, tonight April 17th?

The Philadelphia 76ers are a win away from the playoffs after suffering a midseason collapse in the wake of Joel Embiid’s meniscus tear at the end of January. The reigning MVP returned to action just in time for the postseason, but Philly still has to take care of business in the Play-In to ensure their spot in the first round.

Sixers back to best?

The Sixers path to the playoffs could be a little more complicated than expected considering Joel Embiid is on the injury report, listed as questionable. Embiid had to have surgery to repair his meniscus at the beginning of February, and there were doubts to whether the league’s leading scorer would return at all this season.

While we did get a glimpse of Philly’s center in the final weeks of the regular season, he did miss a couple games. Embiid made his long awaited comeback from injury on April 2nd in a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, scoring 24 points, grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing 7 assists.

Philly had six games remaining in their season following their win over the Thunder, and Embiid played in four of those games as he eased his way into playing shape all the while the Sixers were making a push for playoff positioning. Sixers nation did suffer a huge scare in game 81 when he limped off the court after appearing to reaggravate the same knee he had to get operated. Philadelphia didn’t seem too worried about the injury but he sat out the season finale against the Brooklyn Nets and was put on the injury list tonight.

Embiid is averaging 30.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists in the five games since his come back and the Sixers have won each and every won of those games as they head into the playoffs on an eight game streak. While he won’t be eligible for a second straight MVP because of the number of games he missed this season, his season stats are remarkable. He is averaging 34.7 points, 11 rebounds and 5.6 assists this season while shooting over 50% from the the field and 38.8% from downtown.

The Sixers host the Miami Heat tonight from Wells Fargo Center with the seventh seed on the line. The winner will take on the second seeded New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs while the loser of tonight’s game will face the winner of the second Play-In game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls.