NBA Rumors: Dealing with a knee injury, the Philadelphia 76ers may have to beat the Boston Celtics with an ailing Joel Embiid.
It’s Eastern Conference Finals or bust for the Philadelphia 76ers. With the way this team is assembled and considering their salary cap sheet, the Sixers have to prove that they’re tangibly taking steps forward and not stuck in the mud. Losing in the second round of the playoffs again would not suggest a step forward. That can’t be how this season ends.
The good news is that the Sixers have the look of a team that is prepared to make a deep run. That much was evident with the way they dominated the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs. However, now the hard part begins.
The Sixers are preparing for the Eastern Conference semifinals but may have to do so without Joel Embiid, or a very limited version of him. According to a recent report (subscription required), Embiid is dealing with a sprained LCL in his knee. It’s not great and even if he doesn’t miss time, which there is a chance he does miss the start of the East semis, he’ll have to play through pain.
Source confirms Joel Embiid has a sprained LCL. He may have to wear a brace for the knee when he returns. There is some hope that he can play towards the beginning of the Sixers second round series but he will be playing through a knee injury@ramonashelburne was first pic.twitter.com/JxirjN0vjA
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) April 25, 2023
The Philadelphia 76ers look as good as ever heading into the Eastern Conference semifinals
It’s truly unfortunate that the Sixers may have to start the series without Embiid if that ends up being the case. At the least, it seems as if Embiid is going to have to hobble his way to Game 1 if he plays.
Embiid has been playing at an MVP level this season and perhaps most importantly, through the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets, the Sixers didn’t need him to be otherwordly. That means the team’s supporting cast is pulling its weight. That’s been the Sixers’ Achilles’ heel in recent years in the playoffs.
Of course, now Embiid is battling an injury. There’s an argument to be made that this was setting up to be the Sixers’ best shot at breaking through in the Eastern Conference. That is now in question until we see how much this injury will impact Embiid, if at all.
Facing the Boston Celtics, who are likely now the favorites to come out of the East, the Sixers will have their work cut out for them in the East semis. I can’t envision a scenario in which the Sixers win with Embiid either missing games or being a shell of himself. Hopefully, he is able to heal up before the start or before the end of this series. However, that is looking more and more like an unlikely scenario.