Hollis Thompson loses pounds, Joel Embiid finds them

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Both Hollis Thompson and Joel Embiid left the Sixers' recent West Coast road trip early for health reasons. Prior to the Sixers' win over the Cavaliers Monday night, Brett Brown updated the status of both players, beginning with Thompson.

"Hollis worries me because he has been out what seems like an eternity," Brown said. "He's lost 20 pounds. Sometimes I wish I could get that illness."

Thompson did not have 20 pounds to lose. Monday made for the eighth consecutive game Thompson missed because of an upper respiratory infection.

"The reality of how soon Hollis can come back and try to expedite that is dangerous," Brown said. "We have to go slow with him. We may send him down to the D-League to get basketball back into his blood. Obviously he has to get his weight back.

"We miss his ability to shoot. We are heavily challenged to make shots, three-pointers especially. "

The Sixers had made 48 three-pointers in Thompson's absence entering Monday. Thompson has made 33 three-pointers in the 25 games he played before his absence, and his 33.3 percent from long distance was the second-best three–point percentage on the team.

"He has done a little bit lately, but it is slow as you can imagine," Brown said. "To go back and play NBA basketball after that illness and to lose that amount of weight is going to be a longer process than we think."

Embiid, recovering from foot surgery, has the opposite problem of Thompson — he is trying to get his weight down.

"He looked good," Brown said, seeing Embiid Monday for the first time in nine days. "He did all the things he needed to do physically, being with the trainer and conditioning people.

"Now that he is back on the court there is a life and level of enthusiasm. The challenge is always going to be physically getting him streamlined and thin."

When Brown talks about Embiid back on the basketball court, it is strictly for shooting. Embiid is still not allowed to play any contact basketball to this point.

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