This is not a drill: Joel Embiid expected to return as soon as Tuesday
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid celebrates after scoring 70 points to set a 76ers franchise record for most points in a game during a win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. (Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE via Getty Images)
It’s finally happening. 62 days of watching a 76ers team ranked statistically as one of the worst in the league without Joel Embiid, will finally be coming to an end sometime this week.
Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, he is expected to make his long-awaited return this week. As the 76ers prepare to play the No. 1 seeded OKC Thunder tomorrow, Embiid’s status for the game is expected to be released later today.
Prior to his left meniscus injury, Embiid was averaging an insane 35.3 PPG (best in the NBA) along with 11.3 RPG (8th in the NBA). The 76ers have been struggling to even tread water without the MVP with an 11-19 record since he last played, going from 29-17 as the 5th seed in the East to 40-35 as the 8th seed trying to claw out of the play in tournament.
The 76ers are a significantly worse team without Embiid and it shows when you look at the stats. With Embiid the team averages 121.4 PPG (2nd in the NBA) compared to 108.6 PPG without him (27th in the NBA). With Embiid the team grabs 44.3 RPG (tied 9th in the NBA) but when he’s out just 41.3 RPG (28th in the NBA).
The defense is significantly better with Embiid as well as their defensive rating drops from 112.6 (9th in the NBA) to 118.4 (26th in the NBA). Their offensive rating takes a massive drop as well going from 122.9 (best in the NBA) to 113.7 (19th in the NBA).
With 7 games remaining on the schedule, what does Embiid’s return do for the 76ers’ hopes of escaping the play in? As of today, they sit 1.5 games behind the 7th-seeded Miami Heat who they will play on April 4th, and 2 games behind the 6th-seeded Pacers to just sneak out of the tournament. If the 76ers lose to the Thunder (which wouldn’t be an easy game with or without Embiid) the last 6 games on their schedule are all very winnable with Embiid in the lineup. If they can win 6 of their last 7 the team would finish 46-36 which could definitely see them claim the 6th seed. The Pacers would need to lose 4 of their last 7 games due to the fact they hold the tiebreaker over the Sixers.
With the Nets twice, the Thunder, Heat, Raptors, and Hawks left on their schedule this could happen. Miami, OKC, and Cleveland all beat them and then the Nets or Hawks pull off an upset you can very well see the Sixers do what looked impossible arguably yesterday.
The only win I want to say the Pacers are guaranteed is the Raptors, they’ve lost 13 straight games.
I think it’s safe to say that the Sixers are officially back. They looked like a title contender with Embiid healthy and now he’s returned and hopefully will remind the league how dangerous this team is with the reigning MVP fully healthy.
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