The Philadelphia 76ers received terrible news on Friday night, as it was announced that Joel Embiid is out indefinitely after suffering a right orbital fracture and mild concussion during Game 6 of the Sixers-Raptors first-round series in the 2022 NBA playoffs.
This obviously didn’t sit well with Sixers Nation, and everybody is wondering if the Sixers could win more than one game against the inspired Heat in the second round of the postseason. The job looks incredibly hard for the Sixers, but they aren’t giving up on their chances.
Still, having the MVP candidate sidelined is a major blow for Doc Rivers’ squad, as they prepare to face the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Even their rivals are sorry that Joel can’t play in the series, as Jimmy Butler recently expressed he’d like to go against a fully healthy Sixers team.
“I think I speak for everybody that’s a part of this team, we want Jo to play. We want to go up against them at full strength and prove that we can hang with anybody and we can beat anybody.”
Jimmy: "I think I speak for everybody that's a part of this team, we want Jo to play. We want to go up against them at full strength and prove that we can hang with anybody and we can beat anybody."
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) April 30, 2022
Butler and Embiid are really good friends since they teamed up in Philly during the 2018/19 season. Unfortunately, the team decided to cut ties with Butler to favor Ben Simmons, who became a problem for them last season.
The friendship between these two is strong and it’s easy to see where Butler’s comments come from. This is a big loss for the Sixers, who will now rely on James Harden and Tyrese Maxey to beat the well-rounded Heat that easily dismantled Trae Young in the first round.
If Embiid returns at some point in the series, it will be a huge boost for his squad, but right now, the situation looks very complex for Philly.
