Just as the 76ers were picking up steam in this postseason, Joel Embiid suffered an orbital fracture that will keep him out for at least the first two games of the series.
It’s obviously great news for Miami’s chances of moving on, but it doesn’t mean they are glad Embiid is not on the floor.
Ahead of Game 1, Jimmy Butler issued a statement on the star big man, who he was once teammates with years ago.
“I feel bad for my guy. My former teammate, arguably the MVP of this league. I think I speak for everybody that’s a part of this team, we want Joel to play. I hope he recovers well and gets back very, very soon.”
“I feel bad for my guy. My former teammate, arguably the MVP of this league. I think I speak for everybody that’s a part of this team, we want Joel to play. I hope he recovers well and gets back very, very soon”
-Jimmy Butler on Joel Embiid being out with fractured orbital bone pic.twitter.com/mvklZFGttm
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) May 2, 2022
Butler and the Heat have title aspirations this season. As a team full of veterans, who are revered for building a winning culture, the Heat don’t need a lot of lucky breaks to meet their goals.
In fact, they are open to as much resistance as possible.
“I think I speak for everybody that’s a part of this team, we want Jo to play,” said Butler in April. “We want to go up against them at full strength and prove that we can hang with anybody and we can beat anybody.”
Embiid, 28, is having one of his best campaigns ever. In the regular season, he averaged 30.6 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game on 49.9% shooting.
In the playoffs, he led Philly to a 6-game series win over the Raptors before being hit with an elbow in the final match. Now, the 76ers have to endure some time without him and hope their guy returns before it’s too late.
The key to victory for the 76ers is James Harden. If he can elevate his game and make up for Embiid’s absence, it could be enough to steal a game or two before heading back to Philly.
Either way, the Sixers (just like the rest of the league) are looking forward to having their biggest star back on the floor and fighting back against the Heat at full strength.
