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Sixers' Joel Embiid is 'sick and tired of being babied'

By Alex Butler

April 17 (UPI) -- Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid said he was "sick and tired of being babied" after sitting out a playoff loss to the Miami Heat.

Miami left the Wells Fargo Center Monday in Philadelphia after a 113-103 victory. Game 3 of the Eastern Conference playoff series tips off at 7 p.m. Thursday at AmericanAirlines Area. The series is tied 1-1.

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The seven-footer was forced to the bench Monday while he recovers from an orbital fracture. He also suffered a concussion on March 28 and hasn't played since he had a collision with teammate Markelle Fultz in a game against the New York Knicks.

"[Expletive] sick and tired of being babied," Embiid wrote Monday night on his Instagram account.

The Sixers were 11-8 without Embiid this season, including eight consecutive wins to end the season without the help of the All-Star.

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft averaged 22.9 points, 11 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 blocks per game this season.

"He wants to play in front of the fans," Sixers coach Brett Brown told reporters.

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"He wants to see this through. When he's not able to do that, he gets frustrated. I respect his frustration. It's born out of competitiveness and it's born out of him wanting to be with his team. So the medical side, the different reasons, I'm not going to go there. But I do know the spirit in which he delivers that Tweet ... reflects my conversations with him. It is completely driven out of team, competitiveness ... I want to play basketball. That type of flavor more than anything."

Embiid told ESPN that he could also sit out Game 3 in Miami.

"I promised the city the playoffs and I'm not on the court and I may not be on Thursday either," Embiid said. "I wish more than anything that I was out there. I just want the green light to play."

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