The 76ers finished the regular season as the seventh seed in the East and are now headed to the play-in tournament to face the Magic on April 15 for a chance to potentially face either the Pistons or the Celtics in the playoffs, with the risk of elimination as well.
They have now received some concerning news on Joel Embiid. According to NBA insider Shams Charania, who appeared on the Pat McAfee Show, Embiid is set to miss the play-in tournament.
“The Sixers are preparing to be without Joel Embiid for the play-in tournament that starts on Wednesday, and there will be a potential game on Friday if they lose on Wednesday. He’s not expected to play during the play-in tournament,” said Charania.
“Obviously, his status is currently doubtful going into the playoffs. My understanding is he’s in the very early stages of his recovery process from appendicitis. He has to recover first, then there will be a separate physical part of the rehab as well.”
Embiid recently recovered from a right oblique strain and was just finding his groove back when he went down with an illness and subsequently had an appendectomy. The last fixture that he played was four games ago against the Spurs, when he dropped 34 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 8-19 from the field (42.1 FG%).
The former MVP’s season has been plagued by injuries. He averaged 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in 38 games this season while shooting 48.9% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc.
But the 76ers were hoping to have him healthy at the time of the playoffs. Even though the 76ers franchise has a new face in Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid remains crucial to their championship ambitions.
Expected Timeline For 76ers Star’s Recovery
According to experts like Jeff Stotts, an appendectomy typically takes approximately 23 days to fully recover from. While it is uncommon for NBA players to face this health issue, it has previously happened to renowned players like Grant Hill and OG Anunoby.
Hill missed about 14 days due to his surgery, while Anunoby missed almost a month. If the timeline for recovery is accurate, we could see Embiid back as early as midway through the first round of the playoffs.
Throughout the season, the 76ers replaced Joel Embiid with Andre Drummond and Adem Bona in the lineup. This means that the team’s offensive production will heavily rely on Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and VJ Edgecombe. Clearly, Embiid’s absence will severely hamper the 76ers’ chances of making it to the playoffs.
The 76ers have a 2-1 record against the Magic throughout the season, where Embiid played in only one win, which was in January. If they lose to the Magic, it will be hard to counter the Hornets and the Heat’s size inside the paint in Embiid’s absence.
But if they manage to beat the Magic, which they have previously done this season without Embiid, then they might have a small chance of progressing beyond the first round in the playoffs.
