Drummond reveals Embiid is back practicing with Sixers and says, ‘He looks ready to me' 

CAMDEN, N.J. — Andre Drummond slipped in a nugget of news after the Sixers’ practice Thursday.

While answering a question about players gaining comfort in their roles during the Sixers’ recent 5-2 stretch, Drummond said the following:

“Thankfully, Paul (George) is back and fully healthy, so he’s a big help for us. I’m sure Jo will be tomorrow, too. We should have a full-strength roster tomorrow and go from there.

“Our goal is to wrap these guys in bubble wrap to keep them safe from injuries, man, because we need everyone. Just looking forward to a great game tomorrow. Looking forward to having everybody back and really trying to build this chemistry.”

“Jo” as in Joel Embiid? The superstar center out with a right sinus fracture who a team official said Monday would be re-evaluated in approximately one week?

“I’m not speaking for that man,” Drummond said. “He looked fine at practice the past two days. He’s a grown man, so whatever he decides to do is on him. I’m just saying he looks ready to play to me. That’s why I said it.”

Drummond naturally faced further follow-ups.

He laughed a couple of times as he realized that he was clearly not sharing information aligned with the Sixers’ messaging. (Later in the afternoon, the Sixers listed Embiid as questionable. A team official said he would be re-evaluated the following day.)

“He looks ready to me,” Drummond said. “Obviously, it’s up to him if he feels comfortable going out there quite yet, but he looked fine to me. He’s been moving around. He wore his mask. 

“So whatever the team doctors say for tomorrow … I didn’t say it here first, so I take back what I said. If they didn’t tell you, then I have no idea either then. I think he looks fine. That’s what I think.” 

And what about the extent of Embiid's participation in practice?

“Whatever difference it makes … he still participated,” Drummond said. “He was out there, he played 5-on-5, he participated in the drills. He looked good.”

Drummond was the starting center Monday night for the 8-16 Sixers’ win in Charlotte. They’ll host the Hornets on Friday.

Before Drummond’s comments, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse did say that Caleb Martin (right shoulder impingement) and Adem Bona (left knee tendinopathy) both participated in practice for a second straight day. Ultimately, the Sixers again listed Martin as out against the Hornets. It appears Bona will be available.

When he spoke after practice, Martin called his status “still kind of day-by-day, but I’ve been feeling a lot better for sure. If tomorrow’s the best day for me to come back, talking to the team, and I feel like that’s what I need to do, then I’m definitely going to do that. The priority is always to come back and play, but also try to be as smart as possible.”

Martin acknowledged that his shoulder injury has hampered his shooting form, which he’s working to retool. 

“It was definitely painful getting up toward a certain range of motion, and kind of an abrupt stoppage just because you know what you’re going to feel once you get to a certain range,” Martin said. “It’s almost like your body does a defense mechanism where it just stops. It’s almost like, ‘Oh, we don’t want to feel that,’ so it just kind of does its own thing. 

“That’s been frustrating, when it feels like you don’t have that control over your body, but it’s definitely a lot better now. The medical team has done a great job. We’re getting to where we need to be.”

As for how Embiid looked at practice, Martin kept things much, much closer to the vest than Drummond. 

“I’m just glad to see him back out, just moving,” Martin said. “Obviously, he’s on his own timeline. We’ve all got our own stuff going on. Whenever we can see him moving, I’m happy for that. That’s all I got on him.”