Sixers Joel Embiid ruled out for Monday vs. Nikola Jokic, Nuggets

Mar 27, 2023 - 6:13 PM

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Well, the battle of the bigs is off.

The Philadelphia 76ers matchup vs. Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets set for Monday night will go on without Joel Embiid, who is now listed as out on the team’s injury report.

Embiid reportedly attempted to work out this morning but the team is exercising caution given the Sixers’ recently dense schedule:

Embiid has been suffering from right calf tightness since leaving last Wednesday’s game at the Chicago Bulls at halftime. He returned to action last Friday to drop 46 points on the Golden State Warriors as well as for Saturday’s contest at the Phoenix Suns.

Of course, this means no MVP-caliber battle between Jokic and Embiid. No doubt Twitter will have fun debating him missing this game and what it means for the MVP race. However, Sixers fans should remember it’s much more important that Embiid is healthy for the upcoming playoffs than for one hyped-up matchup.

The Sixers and Nuggets are set to tip off tonight at 9:30 p.m. EST.