All signs point to Embiid missing Game 1
The signals keep mounting that Joel Embiid will not be available for Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals Monday due to a sprained right knee ligament.
Add these hints to the pile-up, which continued after a Saturday practice:
Embiid, who has not played since Game 3 of the opening-round series against Brooklyn April 20, did not practice, nor was he visible in the complex once it was open to the media. Given that it was the first full workout since it became official that the Celtics would be the Round 2 opponent, it was telling that the presumptive MVP was not active.
Doc Rivers was so coy about Embiid’s night-tonight availability during the regular season that his pregame suggestion to wait until game time for the decision literally became a running bit with the media. Yet Saturday, days before the 7:30 Monday game in Boston, he made an out-of-character projection that trended pessimistic.
“The doctors looked at him, and he is really day to day,” Rivers said, shedding his usual poker face. “But
I’ll say this: If I was a betting man, I’d probably say doubtful. So we’ll see.”
Those who are betting men — the Las Vegas oddsmakers — continue to list the Celtics as husky 7.5-point Game 1 favorites, a reflection of their doubts about an Embiid appearance in Game 1.
Paul Reed, who will be the No. 1 center behind Embiid, was the last player to leave the court after adding in a lengthy post-practice shooting session, then sounded like he was preparing to start.
That all followed Rivers’ initial warning last weekend that Embiid’s recovery was
going to “take a minute,” a trendy phrase suggesting that something could take some time. And it was particularly ominous that Embiid has yet to be cleared to play in a game that will occur 11 days after his injury and two days after what the Sixers had hoped would be a positive Thursday medical report.
Though Embiid has not been practicing, he has been spotted in the facility, exercising in the weight room and doing some side-toside shuffle drills. However, reports are that he will require a knee brace when he does return. Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday night at 8 in Boston.
So … what does Embiid need to show before being declared fit for a series the Sixers desperately need to win to break a habit of early-postseason dismissals?
“He has to get better,” said Rivers, who was out of other answers. “Today, he did nothing. Nothing yet. He just wasn’t able to. Obviously, we were hopeful about today.”
Whether significant or not, no regular starters were made available to the media Saturday, though James Harden is scheduled to face
questioning after a Sunday practice before the Sixers depart for Boston.
Rivers has not officially appointed Reed as a Game 1 starter, with De’Anthony Melton remaining a possibility in a small lineup. The Sixers are 12-5 without Embiid this season, including Game 4 in Brooklyn on April 22, when Reed started at center, played 32 minutes and generated 10 points and 15 rebounds.
“That did a lot for my confidence, knowing I could step in and play valuable minutes for the team and give us the boost that we needed,” Reed said. “Now, I feel like I can go into the next series and give us another boost. If Joel is not playing, I am confident I will come in and give us a lot of energy and help as well.”
With the Sixers finally aware of their next-round opponent, they had what Rivers emphasized was a good practice Saturday, even without Embiid. Afterward, Reed spent substantial time shooting outside shots with high accuracy, though not against any defense.
“I keep the same mental preparation and the same physical preparation as I would even if Jo was playing,”
Reed said. “I won’t change up what I am doing any differently. I keep the same mental focus.”
As much as the Sixers overcame the Nets in Game 4, they are about to step up in class against Boston, which won 57 regular-season games and was in the NBA Finals last year. Reed was used in all six games of a Round 2 series loss to the Miami Heat last year, but has become a more polished player since, enough so that he has eliminated, among options, Montrezl Harrell and Dewayne Dedmon from any consideration to absorb any of Embiid’s playing time.
“This year, I am in a much better place mentally,” he said. “Just having more reps during the season has helped me tremendously with my chemistry with my teammates and just knowing where they will need me on the court, where I will get my points and where I am going to help my teammates get their points.
Also, when I get offensive rebounds and kickouts,
I feel like my teammates know what to expect out of me now.“I know what I expect of myself. It is a lot more clear. And I am thankful for the opportunity.”