5 injuries with the greatest impact on the playoffs

#4 Joel Embiid

Cleveland Cavaliers v Philadelphia 76ers — Embiid cheers the 76ers during their win over Cleveland last Friday

Duration of injury: Expected to miss the first week of playoffs

Expected Impact: The Philadelphia 76ers could lose 2-3 games of the first-round series

Joel Embiid sustained an orbital fracture in the face when he got hit by Markelle Fultz's shoulder on 31st March. He underwent surgery in the next week and is expected to be out for a duration of three weeks.

The Philadelphia 76ers have proved their ability to play without Embiid since then, most notably in a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. The playoffs, however, are a different challenge - the kind of challenge that the Sixers have not come up against yet.

Teams (the Bucks, Heat or Wizards will face the Sixers in the first round) will plan for Simmons' lack of a jumpshot and force him to either pass it on or take his chance with hook shots/floaters from 14 feet out.

This will force the rest of the Sixers to up their scoring game, and without adequate playoff experience, one can see them dropping a couple of games before Embiid comes back fully fit.