Robert Covington is a go for Friday night.

The Sixers’ 3 and D wing was cleared to play after missing two games with a lower back injury suffered while diving into the Cleveland crowd on Saturday night.

“Feeling good,” Covington said. “The last few days I’ve done a lot of rehab and acupuncture stuff. My back today, it felt really great.

“I did a lot of movement, lot of stuff that opened up my back, so I felt really good.”

That wasn’t the only back injury to discuss after Thursday’s practice.

Joel Embiid was held out Sunday night with spasms, but played Tuesday and dropped 28 points in an overtime win.

“My back was a little tight, just gotta keep working on it,” Embiid added. “But it feels fine. A two-for-one.”

Thursday also happened to be Covington’s 27th birthday, and Embiid was asked what he got his teammate to mark the special occasion.

“Uhhh, nothing,” Embiid replied.

The Sixers will have everyone available for tomorrow night’s nationally televised game against the Thunder, save for Markelle Fultz and Justin Anderson, as the former rehabs his shoulder and the latter recovers from shin splints.

Book it

Trevor Booker has been a breath of fresh air off the Sixers bench, a high energy guy who can bang on the glass and pull off those hustle plays, too.

Non-traveling media had our first chance to speak with Booker on Thursday afternoon, his first home practice since the Sixers traded for him last week.

Thoughts on his new team and the franchise as a whole:

“Definitely going in the right direction. If you look at the pieces that they have, not only the players, but the coaching staff, it’s going in the right direction with a bright future.”

What was your first thought when you learned you were being traded?

“When I heard I was coming to Philly, I was excited. Just looking at the team I’d be playing with, I was excited to get on the court with those guys, and see what we could do and build together.”

What do you think your role is on this team?

“Same as the last team, just bring that leadership, my energy, that passion and grit, just the ‘angry’ play.”

When you played against the Sixers and observed this team and franchise over the years, what did you make of the “Process” and what was taking place in Philadelphia?

“I was a big fan of the process. They brought in some solid pieces. The way they tried to get everybody acclimated and growing, it was a good process to watch.”

All of the access

ESPN was in the house on Thursday afternoon, hogging up all of the space in the media work room and doing preps for tomorrow’s all-access day on the Worldwide Leader.

Long story short, the Sixers will be featured in basically every ESPN day-part leading up to the nationally televised Thunder game. Embiid will be on First Take. Scott O’Neil will do some radio shows. Bryan Colangelo will be interviewed.

I asked Brett Brown if he had any thoughts on the exposure smorgasbord:

“Initially I wouldn’t have liked it,” Brown replied. “You know, you try to keep things in-house and we’re not trying to, sort of expose ourselves to the public. It’s not like we’re doing anything that’s truly clandestine or probably that different, but you like to keep things in-house. As an organization, when I sit down with Scott and Bryan and the owners, we felt it’s an opportunity to show the things we’ve built over our years. We are proud of where we were and where we are (now), from our players, to the facility, to things that I hope are growing the cultural aspect – how do we act? how do we co-exist as a team? The human side of it (also). They’ve come in, they’re going to provide a quick snap-shot of us, and I think it’s a testament to the organization of just continued growth. We’re going to open ourselves up and let them see a little bit more of us than probably what we would have in previous years.”

JJ Redick, the grizzled vet, didn’t think too much of the idea, one way or another.

“It’s no different than anything I’ve done in my career, to be honest,” Redick said. “We’re in the NBA and we’re in the entertainment business. This is what we signed up for. I think it’s great for the franchise. It’s great for people to see the steps that have been taken over the last four or five years and the direction we’re headed. But from a player’s perspective, this is what we deal with every day. It’s not anything different.”

From the ESPN press release, here are the things you can look forward to tomorrow: