Joel Embiid has been re-evaluated by doctors and they are “happy with the progress” the 76ers center is making following meniscus surgery on his left knee, Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse said Saturday.

“I think there’s always stages of how these things progress,” Nurse said before the Sixers faced the Charlotte Hornets. “Everyone wants to know ‘Well how long is it going to be?” And they give a wide range because of that, because everyone heals differently. We’re just trying to take it as it comes, get him healthy and get him back when he’s ready to go.”

Asked if he believes that Embiid will be back with the team before the playoffs, Nurse was cautious.

“I’m still hoping so and pretty confident, yes,” the coach said.

Embiid’s status has been a source of speculation with an expected team medical update never coming on the re-evaluation after the Feb. 6 surgery. Embiid said on Feb. 29 that he believed that he would be back for the playoffs, but the team’s silence on the matter had created some questions about where the rehab process was.

Embiid, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Saturday, has missed 21 games since tearing the meniscus against Golden State on Jan. 30. In the time since, Philadelphia has fallen from third in the Eastern Conference to eighth, going 8-13 in the 21 games without the 2022-23 NBA MVP

Embiid was spotted greeting teammates on the court after Philadelphia’s 109-98 win over Charlotte on Saturday night, but was not in the team’s locker room when reporters were allowed in after the game.

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The Sixers will be trying to get a win streak going as they welcome Jimmy Butler and the Heat to Philadelphia.

It wasn’t pretty, but the Sixers managed to put together a solid last few minutes and a late 15-4 run to beat the Hornets 109-98 on Saturday. While it was hardly a performance to be proud of against a 17-51 team, it at least takes the Sixers’ record to 37-30 to keep them level with their next opponent in the Eastern Conference standings: the 37-30 Miami Heat.

The Sixers’ short stint at home comes to an end on Monday as they welcome the Heat, who’ll be entering the game with less rest on the second night of a back-to-back after a buzzer-beating 104-101 win against the Pistons on Sunday. They’re also shorthanded, as Kevin Love (right heel bruise), Nikola Jovic (right hamstring strain), Josh Richardson (right shoulder surgery) and the team’s second-leading scorer Tyler Herro (right foot medial tendinitis) were all out on Sunday.

Jimmy Butler was also ruled out at short notice on Sunday due to a right foot contusion. We’ll have to wait for an updated injury report closer to Monday’s tip-off to see if he and Jovic, both considered day-to-day, return in Philly.

Apart from Robert Covington and Joel Embiid’s continued absences (with the hope being for Embiid to return for the last week of the season), the Sixers are healthy.

A challenge for the Sixers recently has been closing games and executing at both ends of the floor in the fourth quarter, which most recently cost them against the Bucks. After entering the final quarter with a 83-80 lead, they came up short in the fourth, losing the final period 34-22. As the Sixers beat the Hornets on Saturday, though, Nick Nurse was more pleased with what he saw from his squad on offense and defense to end the game.

“It usually comes down to some shot-making and stop-making,” Nurse said when talking about the difference down the stretch against Charlotte compared to recent games. “We were able to do both, kind of, consecutively there in the last three minutes of the game. We had a couple of good shots, got an and-one, battled on the glass a little bit, got to the free-throw line there a little bit kind of late in the game, as well, and we were just good enough at the defensive end as well to string up about three stops in a row.”

Doing the same against the Heat won’t be quite as easy, though. While Miami isn’t particularly high in the close Eastern Conference standings at eighth place, going 5-5 in their last 10 games and sitting at an underwhelming 21st in offensive rating for the season, it’s their ninth-ranked defense that leads the way.

Butler’s production and efficiency has fallen slightly since last season, and, even if healthy, he’s only entering Monday’s game after averaging just 14.5 points on only 13.5 field attempts in his last two games. That said, he’s still averaging 21.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.4 steals with a 62.3 true shooting percentage this season. Tobias Harris’s defense has been as bad it’s ever been in Philadelphia for weeks now, so it’s up to Nicolas Batum to use his size, agility and smarts to bother Butler if the Heat’s star is back. With his length, timing and ability to contest drives and help block shots at the rim, Batum has a few skills that could help contain Butler’s focus on attacking the paint.

Again, their offense isn’t at full strength right now without Herro, so others like Duncan Robinson (who’s evolved his play this season with improvements attacking off the dribble and passing) and deadline addition Terry Rozier (averaging 15.4 points and 5.6 assists, albeit with cool shooting, in his first 19 games as a starter) will have to continue to step up in his absence.

On Sunday, it was Adebayo — someone who very rarely shoots from beyond the arc — who came up with a game-winning triple at the buzzer:

It’ll be interesting to see how Paul Reed (who’s had plenty of strong performances recently) fares against Adebayo. He has the mobility and rangy athleticism on the perimeter to hang with Adebayo’s ball-handling, so will hopefully be trusted to anchor the Sixers’ frontcourt over Mo Bamba — who not only lacks the agility to cover Adebayo’s perimeter play but simply shouldn’t be playing more minutes than Reed in general. Bamba played 28 minutes compared to Reed’s 19 against Charlotte, so Nurse switching things up would surely make sense for Monday’s game.

The Heat should offer far more of challenge than the Hornets, but we’ll see if the Sixers can build on this win and get any kind of momentum or consistency going as they wait for Embiid’s (hopeful) return in early April. With the Heat dealing with a few injury issues of their own, perhaps Tyrese Maxey and Co. can come up with another W.

Game Details

Who: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat

When: 7:30 pm EST

Where: The Center

Watch: ESPN

Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic