By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
On Thursday night, the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat shift their series to South Beach for Game 3 with Game 4 to follow on Saturday afternoon. The big question going into Game 3 is whether or not Sixers big man Joel Embiid will make his return or if his orbital bone fracture recovery delay his playoff debut.
Embiid’s status for Game 3 has been upgraded to doubtful. Considering he was ruled out of the first two pretty quickly, doubtful is a somewhat promising sign.
Medical Update:
Joel Embiid – (orbital bone fracture, left eye) is doubtful for tomorrow night’s game at Miami.
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 18, 2018
Per Jessica Camerato of NBC Sports Philadelphia, the Sixers will have shootaround on Thursday, which will serve as another opportunity to evaluate Embiid. As of Thursday morning prior to shootaround, Embiid was still deemed doubtful.
Brett Brown says Joel Embiid is still listed as doubtful for tonight's game. #Sixers
— Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) April 19, 2018
Without Embiid, the Sixers were able to get to 50 wins, set a new single-season franchise record for consecutive victories and secure the No. 3 seed in the East. After taking Game 1 by 27 points, Philadelphia faltered in Game 2, falling to Miami by 10 after being unable to recover from a 13-point second quarter. The Heat made adjustments after Game 1 and did a better job of defending the Sixers on the perimeter in Game 2, making their offense one-dimesional. Miami was overall more physical defensively and Philadelphia shots were not falling.
If Embiid cannot go, the Sixers need to have an answer and be capable of matching Miami’s Game 2 physical style of play. Otherwise, they could find themselves down in a series that has been viewed by many as winnable with or without Joel Embiid.
