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Tim BontempsESPN
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid sat out of Monday night’s game against the league-leading Utah Jazz with back tightness.
Embiid had been listed as questionable for Monday’s game during the day, but coach Doc Rivers said he was unaware of any issues with his superstar big man during his pregame media session, telling reporters he expected Embiid to play.
But then, a short time before tip-off, Embiid was ruled out with back tightness. It’s been an ongoing source of discomfort for him dating back for a month — and especially since he took a hard fall against the Los Angeles Lakers in Philadelphia on Jan. 27 when he was fouled by LeBron James.
Rivers chose to replace Embiid in the starting lineup with Mike Scott, picking him instead of backup Dwight Howard. That decision made Ben Simmons the nominal center in a very small lineup against a Jazz team featuring the league’s best defensive center in Rudy Gobert.
Embiid is in the middle of the best season of his career, putting himself in the middle of the MVP conversation thanks both to his play and that of the Sixers as a whole, who entered Monday with the best record in the Eastern Conference.
That said, Philadelphia has lost back-to-back games to the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns.
Philadelphia is 1-4 when Embiid doesn’t play this season, with the lone win coming in Indiana on January 31 and requiring a crazy fourth-quarter comeback to get the Sixers the win.