The Embiid Question
When the Philadelphia 76ers sent Ben Simmons packing to Brooklyn in exchange for James Harden, many believed that things would improve for Joel Embiid and company. And they did, for a brief period.
The Sixers finished the 2021-2022 regular season with the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference (51-31) and Embiid is one of three finalists in this season’s MVP race. Unfortunately, their championship aspirations just hit a major roadblock: Joel Embiid’s injury.
No Timeline Yet on Embiid’s Return
Embiid came off a 2021-2022 regular season where he averaged a league leading 30.6 points per game while adding 11.7 rebounds per contest across 68 appearances.
Then, the injury bug bit Embiid during the Sixers’ first-round matchup against the Toronto Raptors. The MVP candidate sustained an orbital fracture and concussion in Game 6 of the Sixers first round series win. While he managed to play through the pain and even scored 33 points in the series-clincher, things are now different in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat.
For the second straight game, the Miami Heat took advantage of an Embiid-less Sixers squad, winning 119-103 in Game 2 to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven slugfest.
Sixers Head Coach Doc Rivers indicated that Embiid is starting to feel better but remained cautious about rushing him back into action. “I know he did something yesterday, but not much, and I know he’s feeling a lot better,” Rivers said before the team’s practice on Tuesday. The coach also added, “I don’t want to give false hope either. So, I’ll just stop there.”
If you’re a Sixers fan, things don’t look good for the team’s playoff run. There’s no clear timeline as to when Joel Embiid will suit up again, or whether he’ll even play again this postseason.
Tyrese Maxey scored 34 points in Game Two. Tobias Harris followed that up with 21 points, while James Harden added a 20pts/4reb/9ast statline of his own. Still, those numbers weren’t enough as Philadelphia found no answers for Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, who combined for 45 points. It didn’t help that Philadelphia shot 26% from the three-point line, compared to Miami’s 48%.
DeAndre Jordan, who started at the center position, managed only six points in 13 minutes.
With Embiid’s status for the remainder of the 2022 playoffs a 50/50 proposition at best, the pressure is now on James Harden to regain his former MVP-esque form and avoid the poor shooting performances that have plagued him thus far in the postseason.
Can Philadelphia Survive Without Embiid?
The Sixers went 6-8 this season without Embiid in the lineup. It’s also important to remember that Philadelphia beat Miami in a March game that they played without both Embiid and James Harden. So anything is possible.
Then again, we’re now in the playoffs where the regular season doesn’t matter anymore. Survive without Embiid? It could happen. But to come out from a 0-2 series deficit and make it to the next round without their star center? That’s a tall mountain to climb.
The Sixers’ shooters need to break out of their shooting slump if the team is to have any chance of competing with the Heat. Their big men also need to hold the fort down against Bam Adebayo in the paint without needing to send multiple bodies at the imposing forward. Because if you send a double team to Adebayo, that frees up the shooters of Miami who have starkly outplayed Philadelphia’s thus far.
Game Three is the turning point for the Sixers. If they can capitalize on home court momentum and eke out a victory, that would give Joel Embiid more time to heal up and hopefully return to action.
If they can’t? Well, history hasn’t been kind to NBA teams in 3-0 holes during the playoffs.
-Iggy Gonzales
Twitter: @Godzilla500
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.