Heat, Suns take 2-0 leads on Wednesday night

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Wednesday’s night slate featured Game 2’s between the Sixers and Heat in the east, and the Suns and the Mavericks in the west. The Sixers were without Joel Embiid for the second-straight game, and according to an update on the broadcast by Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Embiid is making progress in his recovery. According to Haynes, Tuesday was the first day that Embiid could use his cell phone since being diagnosed with a concussion, due to the sensitivity to light that comes with a concussion. The plan is to re-evaluate the big fella upon their return to Philadelphia and to go from there.

This wasn’t the only injury update we got on Wednesday, as Shams Charania reported that an MRI revealed that Gary Payton II also has some ligament damage along with the fracture in his left elbow. He will miss at least three weeks, but he has not ruled out a return for the NBA Finals, should the Warriors make it that far. After Tuesday’s loss in Game 2 to Memphis, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr also said that he hopes to get Andre Iguodala (neck) back in the lineup for Game 3. Golden State has a few days to get guys some rest and treatment before the series shifts to the Bay on Saturday, so we will have to see how Iguodala progresses over the next few days.

Lastly, the Nets announced that Ben Simmons will undergo a “microdiscectomy procedure” on Thursday to “alleviate pain caused by the herniated disc” in his back. Simmons is expected to miss 3-4 months to make a full recovery, but he should be ready to return well ahead of training camp, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Simmons should be an early-round pick in next year’s drafts as long as…