Victor Wembanyama’s rookie year will feature only one memorable matchup against Joel Embiid.
The Sixers ruled both Embiid (left knee injury recovery) and Kyle Lowry (rest) out Sunday afternoon for their meeting with the Spurs. De’Anthony Melton (lumbar spine bone stress) and Robert Covington (left knee bone bruise) were still sidelined, too.
Tyrese Maxey (left hip tightness) and Tobias Harris (left knee contusion) were listed as questionable ahead of the Sixers’ regular-season road finale.
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Embiid, who’d scored 70 points in January vs. the Spurs and their exceptional first-year center, played in the Sixers’ last three games after an extended absence with a left meniscus injury. He posted 30 points in 23 minutes in the opening leg of the Sixers’ back-to-back, a blowout win over the Grizzlies. Embiid's longest outing since returning was a 33-minute night Thursday in Miami.
The 38-year-old Lowry had appeared in 15 of the team’s last 16 games. He's one of the teammates Embiid is acclimating to sharing the floor with for the first time.
“Just keep playing together, keep talking to each other. ... I think it’s just going to be repetitions every single game,” Embiid said Tuesday after the Sixers beat the Thunder. “It’s a learning experience. We’ve got to win, but we’re also learning how to play.”
The Sixers entered Sunday night on a four-game winning streak and eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 43-35 record. The standings could still shift plenty in the No. 2 through No. 8 range of the East. The Sixers went into Sunday’s Pacers vs. Heat game trailing Miami by a half-game and Indiana by one game.
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After facing San Antonio, the Sixers will conclude their regular season with a three-game homestand against the Pistons, Magic and Nets. According to Tankathon, the Sixers have the NBA’s easiest remaining strength of schedule.