by Drummond reveals Embiid is back training with Sixers, says ‘He looks ready to me’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Andre Drummond had some news after the Sixers practice on Thursday.
When answering a question about players feeling more comfortable in their roles during the Sixers’ recent 5-2 win, Drummond said the following:
“Luckily Paul (George) is back and completely healthy, so he’s a big help for us. I’m sure Jo will be there tomorrow too. We should have a full squad tomorrow and go from there.
“Our goal is to bubble wrap these guys to protect them from injury, man, because we need everyone. “I’m just looking forward to a great game tomorrow. I’m looking forward to having everyone back and really trying to build that chemistry.”
“Jo” as in Joel Embiid? The superstar is out with a right sinus fracture, which a team official said Monday would be reevaluated in about a week?
“I don’t speak for this man,” Drummond said. “He looked good in training the last two days. He’s a grown man, so whatever he does is up to him. All I’m saying is that he seems ready to play for me. That’s why I said it.”
Drummond, of course, had to deal with further follow-up.
He laughed a few times as he realized he clearly wasn’t relaying information that matched the Sixers’ official messaging.
“He looks ready to me,” Drummond said. “Obviously it’s up to him whether he still feels comfortable going out there, but he looked good to me. He moved around. He wore his mask.
“So whatever the team doctors say for tomorrow… I didn’t say it here first, so I take back what I said. If they didn’t tell you, then I have no idea. I think he looks good. I think so.”
And what about Embiid’s involvement in practice?
“Whatever difference it makes … he still participated,” Drummond said. “He was out there, he was playing 5-on-5, he was participating in practices. He looked good.”
Drummond was the starter for the Sixers’ 8-16 win at Charlotte on Monday night. They host the Hornets on Friday.
Before Drummond commented, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said Caleb Martin (right shoulder impingement) and Adem Bona (left knee tendinopathy) both participated in practice for the second day in a row.
Martin called his status for Friday’s game “still day by day, but I’m definitely feeling a lot better.” If tomorrow is the best day for me to come back and talk to the team and that’s how I feel , that this is what I have to do, then I will definitely do it. The priority is always to come back and play, but also try to be as smart as possible.”
He admitted his shoulder injury has affected his shooting form, which he is working on retooling.
“It was definitely painful to get to a certain range of motion and kind of an abrupt stop just because you know what you’re going to feel when you get to a certain range of motion. It’s almost as if your body triggers a defense mechanism where it just stops. It’s almost like saying, “Oh, we don’t want to feel that,” so it just does its own thing.
“It was frustrating when you feel like you’re not in control of your body, but it’s definitely a lot better now.” The medical team did a great job. We’re getting to where we need to be.”
As for Embiid’s perspective on training, Martin kept things much, much closer to the vest than Drummond.
“I’m just glad he’s back out there and moving,” Martin said. “Obviously he’s on his own timeline. We all have our own stuff going on. Whenever we see him move, I get excited about it. That’s all I know about him.”
