Dwight thinks Embiid 'should be ready' for Game 1
Look away, Atlanta Hawks fans; the team's path to the Eastern Conference finals figures to get a lot tougher.
Veteran Philadelphia 76ers center Dwight Howard believes teammate Joel Embiid will be good to go for Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series against Atlanta.
"(Embiid) looked good," Howard said after Friday's practice, according to the Bucks Country Courier Times' Tom Moore. "His movement looked good laterally. I think he should be ready to go, (but) we don't want to rush him back. ... He looked like his old self."
Embiid missed Game 5 versus the Washington Wizards due to the discovery of a small meniscus tear in his right knee. Even without the MVP finalist in the lineup, the 76ers wrapped up the series with a commanding 129-112 win.
Blowouts have been par for the course for the East-leading 76ers this season. The team totaled 14 wins by at least 20 points and a dozen losses by double digits during the regular season. The team's four playoff wins against Washington came by an average margin of 19.5 points.
All three regular-season matchups between the 76ers and Hawks this year were lopsided affairs - 44- and 22-point wins for Philadelphia and an 18-point win for Atlanta. Despite logging just 24.3 minutes per game, Embiid averaged a tidy 19.7 points, eight rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in the season series.
Game 1 versus the Hawks tips off Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.