PHILADELPHIA – When Joel Embiid entered the court within the final 30 seconds of Tuesday night’s game against the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder, the sellout crowd inside Wells Fargo Center rose to its feet.
Meanwhile, 76ers coach Nick Nurse was left breathless.
“Go faster?” Nurse said after the game, when asked what was going through his mind when he saw Embiid drive the paint in the final moments of a one-point game after swiping the ball from Thunder guard Josh Giddy.
Seconds after the steal, Embiid, in his first game in eight weeks after undergoing a procedure on the lateral meniscus in his left knee, jumped over Thunder center Chet Holmgren at the rim. The collision sent the rookie past the basket into photographers and Embiid to the free throw line. “Man, I was trying to get an and-one,” Embiid said after the game.
Embiid sank a pair of free throws, and after the final sequence saw Oklahoma City miss three potential game-tying 3-pointers within the final 13 seconds of the game, Embiid and the 76ers celebrated a 109–105 victory. Were capable of roaring. Philly’s MVP big man was officially back.
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Joel Embiid comes up with key steals in tough times
Joel Embiid gets separated from Josh Giddy after a steal and is fouled in transition.
Overall, it was an uneven performance for Embiid: 24 points on 6-for-14 shooting but 12-for-12 from the foul line, to go with 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals and 6 turnovers in nearly 30 minutes. Court for. Most importantly, Embiid appeared to emerge unscathed from a health standpoint, as he did from Saturday’s lengthy 5-on-5 practice after Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga inadvertently stepped on his leg during a game. It was his first full season with his teammates since the fall. 30 January.
Now, the 76ers head to Miami on Thursday night for one of the biggest remaining games of the regular season. Embiid, who looked tired at times during Tuesday’s win, said the goal is to play even in that game.
“We’ve just got to take it day by day, see how the knee reacts tomorrow,” Embiid said. “We got a big opportunity in Miami. If I’m ready to go, obviously I will.”
Tuesday’s game, while fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey and the team’s other starting guard, De’Anthony Melton, watched in street clothes, was a sign that this contender, with less than two weeks to go in the regular season, What is left is close to completion.
“I want us to make a run to finish the season,” Embiid said. “So, we have to (get wins) and keep competing.”
As the rest of the Eastern Conference contenders look to Embiid and the Sixers in the final six games of the regular season, here’s how the reigning MVP’s return could shake up the playoff race.
What Embiid means to Philadelphia on the court
For Philadelphia, the next two weeks are about two things: getting Embiid up to speed and doing everything possible to avoid the play-in tournament. While Embiid’s return was an obvious boost, it showed how much his team has changed since his exit in late January. Before Tuesday’s game, Embiid had not played a second with starting guards Kyle Lowry and Cameron Payne and sixth man Buddy Hield — all three of whom arrived at or near the Feb. 8 trade deadline. Embiid’s victorious return came even as fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey sat out for the second consecutive game with a hip injury.
When Embiid is on the court this season, Philadelphia is scoring 120.6 points per 100 possessions and allowing 110.5. These would rank as the second-best offense and third-best defense in the NBA throughout the season. But during Embiid’s injury, Philadelphia was outscored by 4.9 points per 100 possessions, the ninth-worst mark in the league over that span.
Now, there are reasons for optimism that the team assembled around the reigning MVP is better than the roster that was in place when Embiid went down. Lowry, a North Philadelphia native, has hit 39% of his 3-pointers as a Sixer, provides solid two-way play and has a valuable relationship with 76ers coach Nick Nurse from their shared time with the Toronto Raptors. Is.
Hield, meanwhile, is the latest in a line of sharpshooting guards who move well off the ball, who should get into some excellent two-man game action with Embiid, as JJ Redick and Seth Curry have done with him in the past. did. And Nicolas Batum, after missing several times early in the year due to injury, has become a key man in Philadelphia’s lineup who can excel alongside Embiid and Harris in the 76ers’ frontcourt. One unknown is the status of guard De’Anthony Melton, a premier two-way player for Philadelphia and, if healthy, Maxey’s partner in the team’s starting backcourt. Melton has played in only five of the 76ers’ last 44 games due to a back problem and the timetable for his return is unclear.
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Legler: With a healthy Embiid, the Sixers’ ceiling is the conference finals
Tim Legler explains how Joel Embiid’s return affects the 76ers’ playoff hopes in the Eastern Conference.
Embiid’s impact on the East playoff picture
Thursday’s matchup with the Heat in Miami appears to be a virtual must-win for the 76ers to climb up from eighth place to enter the East play-in tournament. Miami also won on Tuesday by beating the New York Knicks and will enter Thursday 1.5 games up in the standings with a 2-1 lead in the season series.
A win over the Heat on Thursday would mean they only have to go 3-3 to be assured of finishing ahead of Philadelphia based on head-to-head tiebreakers. (The Sixers, who lost the season series 2-1 to the Indiana Pacers, could fare no better in a potential three-team tie.) Miami ends with back-to-back home games against the lottery-bound Toronto Raptors And it’s likely to split at least its final six games.
If Philly wins to tie the season series at 2–2, it will push the tiebreaker toward the conference record. At 29-18, the Heat are currently ahead of the 76ers (27-21), but it has not been decided yet. Perhaps more importantly, a win Thursday would give Philadelphia a realistic path to finishing ahead of Miami in the standings.
After Miami, the 76ers finished the season with four of their final five games against teams with bottom eight records. Although the Orlando Magic have the better record, Philadelphia likely has the advantage for the remaining games due to playing at home with a healthy Embiid.
If the Sixers win, it’s possible they could pass both the Heat and Pacers and avoid the play-ins altogether. Projections based on ESPN’s Basketball Power Index (BPI) showed Philly had claimed a top-six seed in 6% of simulations before Tuesday’s win.
Where the 76ers finish also has a significant impact on the top half of the East standings. No top team in the conference wants to face the reigning MVP in the first round as a reward for earning a top-three seed.
If Philadelphia wins the second play-in game and claims the eighth seed, it would mean a matchup against the top-seeded Boston Celtics for the second consecutive year after the teams meet in the 2023 conference semifinals. A renewed focus is expected to be given to the possibility of top-seeded players getting to choose their opponents in future.
While the Sixers will be an unusually challenging No. 8 seed, Boston will certainly be the favorite in the first-round series. The No. 2 seed Milwaukee Bucks will face the same fate, albeit by a smaller margin. Whichever team finishes third among the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and Orlando Magic could find themselves the underdog in the first round against Philadelphia with Embiid.
