Philadelphia 76ers: Can Joel Embiid salvage the season one more time?

Down 2-0 against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals, can Joel Embiid save the season for the Philadelphia 76ers one more time? 

After losing the first two games in their Eastern Conference semifinals matchup with the Miami Heat, the Philadelphia 76ers are going to need a savior as the series shifts to the City of Brotherly Love. And that responsibility will fall on Joel Embiid, who has been sidelined for the first two games in this series with a concussion, a fractured orbital bone, and a hand injury.

Though, heading into Game 3, with Philly’s season on the line, the growing expectation is that (assuming he clears concussion protocol) Embiid will attempt to salvage the season for the Sixers.

It’s something that Embiid has done time and time again this season – and in the postseason – for the Sixers. If Philly is going to survive even just a few more games against the top-seeded Heat or make it to the conference finals, they’re going to need Embiid to be the MVP candidate that he’s been all year long.

Can Joel Embiid flip the series for the Philadelphia 76ers?

The good news is that Embiid is just the player that can change the series on a dime. He’s so good that he literally changes nearly everything when he’s on the floor. He changes the way opponents can defend the Sixers, how the Sixers defend opponents, and will effectively solve the problem of Sixers coach Doc Rivers having to play DeAndre Jordan.

Embiid’s return would effectively take a huge amount of offensive pressure off of James Harden (who is clearly no longer the player he once was) and Tyrese Maxey (who has actually been pretty good this series).

He’ll put even more pressure on Miami’s interior defense, which would give Philly’s perimeter players even more open shots. Philly still has to make them, which has been a problem through the first two games of this series, but perhaps that changes with knowing Embiid is here to try and save the day.

While it’s not a foregone conclusion that Embiid returns for Game 3, it’s something that the Heat are expecting.

Shortly after the Game 2 loss, however, Rivers downplayed the narrative of Embiid coming to save the day.

As the Sixers face a 2-0 series deficit, it’s clear that something has to change heading into Game 3. The big question is whether Embiid will be back. In what might end up being his MVP season, the Sixers need him to come save the day. Problem is, this time, he may not be walking through that door.