The competition between the 76ers and Thunder unfolded with lower than good attendance: Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey (hip) and Oklahoma Metropolis’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (quad) and Jalen Williams (ankle) sat out with minor accidents. However these absences solely brightened the highlight on Embiid, who posted 24 factors (on 6-for-14 taking pictures), seven assists, six rebounds and three steals in 29 minutes. His endgame pickpocketing of Giddey introduced the house crowd to its ft and, maybe extra importantly, injected a jolt of power into what has been a forgettable last lap of the Jap Convention playoff race.
With the No. 1 seed Boston Celtics crusing in entrance of the competitors and the No. 2 Milwaukee Bucks nonetheless figuring out the kinks following a midseason teaching change, the East’s panorama has lacked juice since Embiid underwent surgical procedure to deal with a lateral meniscus damage in his left knee in early February. The Cleveland Cavaliers, presently occupying the third seed, and the New York Knicks (fifth) have been hampered by accidents to Donovan Mitchell and Julius Randle, respectively, whereas the convention’s excessive quantity of basement-dwellers ensured there wouldn’t be any curiosity across the play-in match minimize line. The Orlando Magic (fourth) joined the playoff combine forward of schedule and the Miami Warmth (seventh), the East’s reigning champion, can by no means be counted out, however Embiid’s absence robbed the convention of its largest persona whereas severely undermining one of many high threats to the Celtics and Bucks.
“I simply wished to come back again,” Embiid mentioned in a postgame interview with TNT. “I believe we’ve an opportunity even with the extent that I’m at. I’m solely going to get higher. This [injury] was most likely the toughest, by far, particularly mentally.”
When Embiid fell to the court docket in opposition to the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 30, the 76ers have been the East’s No. 5 seed, simply 2½ video games out of second place. After Tuesday’s win, they maintain the No. 8 seed, two video games again of the Indiana Pacers in sixth and on observe for a play-in match spot. The 76ers’ high quality of play plummeted with out their franchise heart: They dropped from 14th to twenty second in offensive effectivity and from twelfth to twenty fourth in defensive effectivity whereas posting an 11-18 report. There was little to savor for Philadelphia’s followers not too long ago, other than an exciting victory within the staff’s first recreation in opposition to James Harden for the reason that disgruntled guard was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in October.
Standings slippage was just one aspect of the damage fallout: Embiid missed a lot time that he’s not eligible to win MVP, all-NBA honors or his third straight scoring title, regardless of averaging a career-high 35.0 factors per recreation. He was additionally caught as a bystander throughout February’s All-Star Sport and within the wake of Philadelphia’s many commerce deadline and buyout market strikes. Patrick Beverley and Marcus Morris are gone, changed by Buddy Hield, Kyle Lowry and Cam Payne.
Tuesday’s win urged Embiid might want to make good use of the ultimate 11 days of the common season. He was already tugging on his shorts, the common signal of fatigue, just some minutes into the primary quarter, and he couldn’t discover the vary on his exterior shot. Chemistry along with his new teammates should be developed on the fly: He sailed a cross into the stands looking for Lowry slicing to the ring, one among six turnovers on the evening. Embiid’s endurance and defensive exercise on the perimeter, which each left quite a bit to be desired, ought to enhance as he shakes off the rust.
“The place I assumed [Embiid ] actually impacted [the game] was defensively late,” 76ers Coach Nick Nurse mentioned. “He regarded fairly good for not taking part in for a pair months, that’s for certain. … Usually, I’d say it’s going to take a bit [for him to get up to speed], however it wouldn’t shock me right here if in yet another recreation or two that he’s able to roll. He’s misplaced some weight. He’s labored actually exhausting to take care of his conditioning.”
Although he wore a brace and a sleeve on his left knee, Embiid moved assertively and fluidly on offense and wasn’t shy about creating contact. His midrange jumper regarded sharp at occasions, he drew common double groups from the Thunder’s protection, and he earned 12 journeys to the free throw line that helped gasoline a 76ers comeback. Reintroducing Embiid’s big selection of expertise into a combination that features Maxey’s dynamic attacking recreation, Tobias Harris’s complementary scoring, Hield’s floor-spacing skill and Lowry’s veteran savvy makes Philadelphia infinitely extra watchable and extra harmful as a postseason commodity.
Out of the blue, the race for the No. 6 seed amongst Indiana, Miami and Philadelphia is value monitoring on a nightly foundation. Philadelphia’s remaining schedule may assist its trigger: 4 of its remaining six video games come in opposition to lottery groups, and Thursday’s recreation in opposition to Miami shall be essential within the seeding race. If the 76ers can steal a highway win, they might improve their probabilities of claiming a assured playoff spot or home-court benefit in a No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in recreation. With a loss, Philadelphia would very probably land because the No. 8 seed, that means it will have to go on the highway for its first play-in recreation earlier than probably internet hosting a second play-in recreation in opposition to the No. 9 Chicago Bulls or No. 10 Atlanta Hawks.
The 76ers are 1-3 in opposition to the Celtics and 0-3 in opposition to the Bucks, so a late climb as much as the No. 6 seed would qualify because the dream situation. If that doesn’t materialize, Philadelphia ought to hope to attract Indiana within the play-in match and Milwaukee within the first spherical. The Pacers rank twenty fourth in defensive effectivity and don’t have any good choices to counter Embiid inside, whereas the Warmth eradicated the 76ers from the 2022 playoffs and boast all-star heart Bam Adebayo.
In the meantime, the Celtics rank first in offense, third in protection and first in level differential this season, they usually have a deep and skilled frontcourt rotation to throw at Embiid. Moreover, Boston has eradicated Philadelphia from the 2018, 2020 and 2023 playoffs, profitable 12 of 15 video games with Embiid on the court docket in these collection. Let’s not overlook: A primary-round showdown between the Bucks’ new coach, Doc Rivers, and his former staff, the 76ers, would make for excellent theater.
Embiid’s damage presents a minimum of two blessings in disguise: He ought to enter the playoffs principally free from the inflated expectations which have undone the 76ers in recent times, and he ought to be comparatively recent on condition that he’s logged fewer than 1,200 minutes this season. The prevailing narratives round Embiid’s incapacity to guide a staff to the Jap Convention finals — that Philadelphia can’t deal with the strain, and that nagging damage points and accumulating fatigue will finally sabotage its celebrity’s efficiency — might not apply this 12 months. Contemplating the difficult circumstances, Embiid and the 76ers are greatest solid as spoilers, and an early exit within the play-in match or the primary spherical shouldn’t engender the identical vitriol as their notorious second-round collapses of the previous.
For as soon as, Embiid enters the postseason with out a lot to lose.
