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On Wednesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers were able to close out their first round series against the Washington Wizards. What was impressive is that they did it without talismanic center Joel Embiid. It was the first game of the 2021 postseason the Cameroonian had missed after injuring his right knee in game four.
After the 76ers had lost that matchup, Embiid was listed as day-to-day by the team's medical staff and his injury status remains as such. It was effectively an unimportant game for the Sixers at home with a two-match advantage in the series. It was highly unlikely that Joel Embiid would play either way.
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Having advanced to the semi-finals, the Philadelphia 76ers now face the Atlanta Hawks. They too won their first-round matchup 4-1 and will come into the series as underdogs with nothing to lose.
How will the Philadelphia 76ers fare if Joel Embiid does not return in their semi-final series?
It is currently unknown when Joel Embiid will return to action for the Philadelphia 76ers. Thankfully for their fans, he was not ruled out of the postseason and may well return. However, more worryingly for them will be when that can be.
Embiid is irreplaceable to the Sixers and what they are trying to achieve this year in the playoffs. His size and scoring ability are what make him one of the most dominant presences in the game. Had it not been for injury, he may even have been the outright favorite for the NBA MVP award. However, as it is currently, it will most likely go to Nikola Jokic.
Doc Rivers has been able to get the best out of Joel Embiid in his first season as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged a career-high 28.5 points, temporarily as the league's leading scorer. He was one of only eleven regular starters in the league to average at least one steal and one block per game.
His abilities on both ends of the floor are widely unrivaled, and certainly wouldn't be against the Atlanta Hawks were he to play.
Should he not be able to return, the Philadelphia 76ers will have a much trickier series ahead of them than expected. With Joel Embiid on the floor, they went 39-12 during the regular season but lost almost as many games without, going 10-11. On Wednesday, his teammates were able to step up with six players scoring double-digit points, led by Seth Curry's 30-point piece.
In games that he has missed, there has been greater emphasis on Ben Simmons leading the team. Although he is traditionally more defensively minded, he has been able to produce on the scoring end in the playoffs.
Without Joel Embiid in the postseason, Simmons has averaged 9.2 more points (22.8) and 3.8 more assists (10.5) than with him across four games. Although it is a small sample size, his continued productivity will be crucial if the Philadelphia 76ers are to advance to the finals without their center.
Game 1 of their semifinal series is not until Sunday, June 6th at 6PM ET, therefore he still has time to recover. With home court advantage and being the favorites, the Philadelphia 76ers will fancy themselves to win even without Joel Embiid. However, the Atlanta Hawks have several avenues of scoring prowess. Without Embiid's defensive presence on the floor, they could make a longer series out of it than the Sixers fanbase hoped for.
