The Philadelphia 76ers enjoyed a strong turnaround in the 2025-26 season compared to the previous campaign, asserting themselves as a playoff team after securing the seventh seed in the East. Although they were recently struck by misfortune due to Joel Embiid‘s sudden bout of appendicitis, the 76ers have received some positive news.
According to the latest reports, Joel Embiid has resumed physical activity, beginning with strength and conditioning drills following his appendectomy. While there was a general expectation that Embiid would be unavailable for the first round of the playoffs, this could potentially help the 76ers keep their playoff aspirations alive.
Currently, the Philadelphia 76ers find themselves in a slightly vulnerable position after suffering a 123-91 loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 1. While losing the first game on the road to one of the best teams in the league doesn’t come as a shock, the nature of the loss may raise concerns for Philadelphia moving forward.
Still, should Joel Embiid’s recovery trend in the right direction, reports indicate that the superstar big man could return in time for the end of the seven-game series against the Celtics. Although this is promising, it inherently implies that the 76ers must find a way to win three games without their starting center to keep their postseason run going.
Needless to say, this will be a daunting task.
The 76ers Need Joel Embiid Back In The Lineup
The 76ers (45-37) drew a tough matchup in the first round, going up against the second-seeded Boston Celtics (56-26). With Embiid sidelined, the 76ers looked to their young backcourt duo of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe to take over the scoring load in Game 1 of the matchup.
Despite Maxey’s best efforts, the Celtics’ defensive pressure was too much to bear alone, as he was restricted to just 21 points and eight assists on 8-20 shooting from the field. With Maxey’s offense limited, the 76ers suffered a blowout loss.
Barring Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, the 76ers’ most reliable offensive players are Paul George and VJ Edgecombe. However, considering George’s fluctuations in performance and Edgecombe’s relative inexperience, Philadelphia appears to lack consistent scoring production at the top, forcing the team to demand more from its bench.
While Game 1 may still be considered an outlier to some extent, especially since players like Quentin Grimes failed to notch double-digit scoring, it is evident that the 76ers will need Joel Embiid back in the lineup.
Although Embiid only appeared in 38 games this season, he has been largely impactful for Philadelphia. With averages of 26.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game while shooting 48.9% from the field and 33.3% from three-point range, the 32-year-old helped the 76ers post a 24-14 record when available.
There is some room to debate that beating the Celtics, even with Embiid, may be too much for the 76ers. But considering how unpredictable the postseason can be, Philadelphia may still have reason to be hopeful.
