Embiid is out for Game 2, Sixers confirm
CAMDEN, N.J. » Cold as it sounds, the way the Sixers are playing, they don’t need injured center Joel Embiid.
And they’re not getting him back until at least Thursday. The Sixers said Sunday that the big guy won’t play in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series with the Miami Heat, Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Sixers own a 1-0 lead in the series after a 130-103 blowout extended their win streak to 17 games. That includes nine in a row without their best player, who’s inching toward a return.
Embiid formally cleared the NBA’s concussion protocol Sunday, according to the Sixers. He’s still mending from the orbital fracture to his left eye sustained March 28 in a collision with teammate Markelle Fultz.
The initial timetable for an Embiid return was 2-4 weeks. The veteran underwent the eye surgery March 31.
It will be three weeks since the injury Wednesday.
Sixers coach Brett Brown shrugged Sunday when asked if Embiid’s return date could be swayed by what’s happening on the court.
“It’s still about what’s best for Joel’s health,” Brown said after practice at the Sixers’ training complex. “And to have him come back and save the day because we lost Game 1, that’s not going to happen. And the fact that we won Game 1 also doesn’t influence it. It’s all the same thing. It’s just, what is best for Joel’s health? And it’s been determined that he shall not play Game 2 for that reason.”
Brown declined to speculate on when Embiid might return. But it’s fair to wonder what might happen when he does suit up, the playoff rout of the Heat merely the latest example of how the Sixers have evolved.
With the 7-0 Embiid in the lineup, the Sixers have the added dimension of a low post game on offense and a rim protector at the defensive end. Embiid tops the Sixers in scoring and rebounding at 22.9 points 11.0 boards. He also averages almost two blocked shots per game.
The flip side is the Sixers’ team numbers with Embiid aren’t as eye-popping as without him. Small sample size or not, the Sixers have been a dangerous opponent without him.
With Embiid the Sixers averaged 108.9 points in 74 games. They gave up 106.8 points per start.
In the nine-game block without Embiid, including the playoff opener, the Sixers are averaging 119.8 points and giving up 92.3 points.
Guard J.J. Redick, who matched his season-high with 28 points against the Heat, says the Sixers play faster without Embiid.
“We’ll still play fast but we’ll play a little bit slower,” Redick said. “We’ll have more set plays to get him the ball in the post. But I don’t think the philosophy changes all that much. Probably when we are at our best is when we’re balanced, sort of making sure he has touches in the post with that flow action that we’ve played with the last couple of weeks.”
While suggesting the Sixers are a better team without Embiid is foolish, it’s rarely easy seamlessly working an injured player back into a rotation that’s firing on all cylinders.
Redick had scoring company in the rout of Miami, as Marco Belinelli scored 25 points, Dario Saric 20, and Ben Simmons and Ersan Ilyasova 17 apiece. Simmons recorded 14 assists.
The Sixers made 18 of 28 three-pointers, shooting 64.3 percent from beyond the arc and turned the ball over just 10 times, most of the latter in the first half.
The first game of the series was an eye opener as the Heat was swamped defensively.
“Obviously you have like five guys and you have Ben, who is sharing the ball unbelievable,” Saric said. “When you have five guys who can shoot on the court I think it’s going to be hard for them to beat us. That’s my opinion.”
There’s only so much the Heat can do to adjust, common sense suggesting they’re going to try to get the ball out of the hands of Simmons, the Sixers’ facilitator.
“They’ll probably make an adjustment on how they guard Ben, or what their strategy is with Ben,” Redick said. “How they shift to the basketball. How they load up on Ben. And maybe they switch more off the ball with Marco and I. Those are probably the things I anticipate.”
All of that said, Game 2 of the series could make Brown’s return plan for Embiid a little more difficult, the health of the big man notwithstanding. That’s because the Sixers are playing sound at just the right point of the season.
“I think we’ve gained confidence over the last few weeks playing without him,” Redick said. “I think that confidence was evident last night.”
Said Fultz, “I know for a lot of us it’s kind of scary, really, just to see what we did without Joe.
“We’re just really looking forward to when he comes back however more talented we’re going to be.”