Sixers’ Joel Embiid missed shootaround, listed as questionable for Game 5 with a migraine
The Sixers center is also fighting through a left knee injury and dealing with the effects of mild Bell's palsy on the left side of his face.
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No big surprises here — Sixers star Joel Embiid is once again listed as questionable but expected to play Tuesday against the New York Knicks.
Embiid missed the team’s morning shootaround Tuesday with a migraine.
» READ MORE: Sixers-Knicks Game 5: Live updates
The Sixers star previously said migraines are a potential side effect of his mild Bell’s palsy. He first started experiencing migraines two days before the NBA Play-In Tournament game against the Miami Heat.
“Usually, I don’t like to check it out,” he said, “but for some reason, I ended up having to tell somebody. That’s why in the Miami game, my body, I was just not feeling it. I’m sure if you Google the symptoms you know what it is.
“It’s pretty annoying with my left side of my face, my mouth, and my eye. It’s been tough, but I’m not a quitter, so I have to keep fighting through anything. It’s unfortunate, that’s the way I look at it, but that’s not an excuse. I have to keep pushing.”
On top of this recent diagnosis, Embiid is still recovering from knee surgery and he’s battling a mild case of Bell’s palsy. Despite finishing with a team-high 27 points, Embiid appeared gassed in the fourth quarter of Game 4, where he was held to just one point and went 0-5 from the court.
Embiid returned to the Sixers on April 2 after missing eight weeks following meniscus surgery. He tweaked his left knee during a win against the Orlando Magic on April 12, and was held out of the team’s final regular season game against the Brooklyn Nets.
Since then he’s started every game, though he was forced to leave the court a few times against the Miami Heat and Knicks after re-tweaking his knee.