Embiid still sidelined with facial injury

CAMDEN, N.J. » At one time, a healthy player would raise his hand and a coach would motion him into a basketball game.

Any more, it takes a social-media blast and a day’s worth of meetings among people who don’t play to maybe, maybe, maybe, make it happen.

Out since March 28 with a broken face, Joel Embiid watched the Sixers lose Game 2 of an openinground playoff series, 113-103, to the Miami Heat. Afterward, he took to Instagram to complain about “being babied” during his recovery.

By Tuesday, the situation had spun into a real-life take-off on the have-your-people-call-my-people gag.

“It’s still moving forward,” Brown said. “I can say there is a very unified effort with his representation and the people around him, with the people who did the operation, with the doctors, with our medical staff, with the team, with me, with the coaching staff.

“We’re all doing this. There is a unified spirit and a line of communication.”

It’s a line. It didn’t lead anywhere. But it’s a line.

“What that means in regards to ‘when is he going to come play again?’” Brown said, “that’s still unknown.”

Wasted motion. The Sixers have been victimized by that more than once during this past week.

As for Tuesday, the club reported that Embiid was not cleared to play. The center was spotted at the practice center, lightly taking jump shots. He was scheduled to participate at some level in a low-scale, non-contact practice, not unlike a game-day walkthrough.

The Sixers will play Game 3 of the series, which is tied at 1-1, Thursday night at 7 in Miami. By Wednesday night at 5, the Sixers will be obligated by league rule to share Embiid’s status, whether that be “out,” “doubtful,” “questionable” or cleared. There is not necessarily a category for improvingbut-complaining-on-Instagram, but there might as well be for one reason: However Embiid’s condition is characterized, the Sixers are under no NBA obligation to use him that way Thursday.

They literally can rule him “out” and, unlike in other sports, essentially pretend they’d had their fingers crossed on the situation all along.

Because he was not cleared, Embiid was not made available to meet the media. The last time he did that was before Game 82 of the regular season, which conveniently corresponded with the deadline for voting for MVP and other distinctions that reportedly would yield Embiid high bonuses. That night, he made sure to talk at length about why he should be so honored.

Since then … it’s socialmedia only.

So what was happening at that Tuesday workout, which would be closed to the press?

“He’ll be doing some stuff with shooting and scripting, really for the first time with his team,” Brown said. “But what that translates to in regards to him returning to the court, we don’t know.”

Not that the Sixers weren’t convinced that his return would at some point be necessary in the postseason, the rugged tone of the Heat series has made Embiid’s return more critical.

“Everybody knows he is a low-post presence who can score at any given moment,” Markelle Fultz said. “And he gives us a defensive presence down the other end who can alter shots and have your back once you get blown by or make a mistake. He can stretch the floor and shoot threes. He’s a great player who can help us in many ways.”

Without game-speed, game-contact conditioning, Embiid would be subject to some measure of what Brown called Monday “re-introduction” into the Sixers’ system and flow.

Then again, his determination to play and his demonstration that he will turn to his hand-held-device to embarrass the Sixers into making that happen could speed that process.

“Joel Embiid makes us different,” Brown said. “We all know this. We all understand this. His presence, his availability, makes the world go around. You can post him. The possibility rings in my ear.”

According to the original plan, loose as it was, Embiid was expected to return sometime during the first playoff round. He has been fitted with a mask. He has been shooting and sweating. He has been complaining. Add it up. “He is progressing,” Brown added. “And it is such an open-ended word. I feel responsible saying it. Yes, he is progressing.”