PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers welcomed Joel Embiid back to the lineup on Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers after he missed a game in Milwaukee on Friday. The big fella is continuing to work his way back from left knee injury recovery and right knee injury recovery as he looks to build himself back up for the Sixers on the floor.

As he faced off with Deandre Ayton and the Lakers, it was a struggle for Embiid. He shot just 4-for-21 from the floor and 0-for-6 from deep for 16 points along with seven rebounds in 30 minutes in a 112-108 loss. The 30 minutes are a positive sign along with the seven rebounds–five of them on the defensive end–but the shooting struggles are what stands out.

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“Loved it,” Embiid said of his shot selection after the loss. “Every shot felt like it was right there. I think it all comes down to just getting back in a rhythm. Playing every day and I think it’s hard. It’s hard just being in and out, but gotta do it. I like what I got tonight. Just happened to miss them. Maybe next time, it’s gonna go in.”

Embiid has certainly been in and out of the lineup for Philadelphia as he works his way back from the injuries that have plagued him out on the floor. The 2023 MVP winner has been on minutes restrictions, been in and out of the lineup, and has struggled to find any consistent routine just yet this season. His rhythm is certainly out of whack and he attributes that to the struggles against the Lakers on Sunday.

“If you’re wide-open, you gotta take them,” Embiid added. “I’ve been in a lot of situations where I’ve made some of them and I’ve missed some of them so just gotta take them and then, obviously, there are some other times if you’re open and someone else is open and if you’ve had that type of shooting night, you gotta make the extra pass, but in the situations that I was in tonight, I just happened to miss them. Nothing more than that.”

In terms of his health, Embiid stated that he’s feeling good at this point. The big fella is continuing to work with the doctors and follow the lead of the coaches, but he is also hoping the restrictions will be lifted sooner rather than later.

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“I’m feeling pretty good,” Embiid stated. “I think, like I said, it’s all about getting in that rhythm and playing every other day. I think we’re getting there. The plan they have me on is playing and then two days off in between and playing again. It’s working pretty well. Hopefully, that keeps going and we can start doing it every other day, but I’m feeling pretty good.”

There was a stretch before his right knee began bothering him that Embiid began looking like himself again. The big fella began getting after it defensively and was a real threat on the offensive end of the floor. The right knee then caused him to miss nine games and he has to build himself back up again.

As Embiid has done throughout his career, he is starting over. It’s frustrating for him, but nothing new.

“Even before the other stuff happened when I had to miss a couple games, I felt like I was getting back to myself again, and obviously, that happened, so gotta kinda have to start over, but I’ve been there before so many times,” he finished. “So, I’ll get back to it.”

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The Sixers will have a big break in the schedule due to the NBA Cup quarterfinals and won’t play again until Friday when they play host to the Indiana Pacers.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Joel Embiid addresses his struggles, health after 76ers fall to Lakers