Sixers Injury Report: Embiid ruled out, Noel set to debut against Pistons

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By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor  

The Philadelphia 76ers were back at practice on Saturday morning. Following the conclusion of shootaround, it was revealed that Joel Embiid would miss Sunday's game with elbow inflammation while both Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor would be available to play.

Head coach Brett Brown said he isn't concerned about Embiid's elbow inflammation and keeping him out on Sunday is a precautionary decision. Brown mentioned that he expects to have all three bigs available for Wednesday's game at home against the Raptors. Embiid is averaging 18.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in 15 games this season. At this point, Brett Brown doesn't foresee him missing more than one game.

Jahlil Okafor is set to return on Sunday after missing the last three games with gastroenteritis. He'll get the start at center against Detroit's Andre Drummond. Okafor is averaging 11.2 points and 4.4 rebounds this season, primarily as a back-up to Joel Embiid. As a starter, he's averaging 15.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest in six games. According to Brett Brown, Okafor isn't expected to be on a minutes restriction after sitting the last three games.

Lastly, Nerlens Noel will make his 2016-17 debut after missing the first quarter of the season with groin and knee injuries. He'll come off the bench, but the amount of minutes he'll be allotted hasn't been determined yet. 

"I feel great," Noel said after practice on Saturday. "I was anticipating this, so I got my mind right and this is what I've been working for through the whole rehab process."

Last season for the Sixers, Noel averaged 11.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. He came into this season very open about his thoughts of how the roster cannot work with three centers and he'll find himself in the very situation when he debuts tomorrow and especially when Joel Embiid returns. Brett Brown mentioned, that depending on matchups, we could see Okafor and Noel on the court at the same time against the Pistons on Sunday.

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