The NBA Playoffs Don't Actually Begin Until Joel Embiid Misses A Big Game Due To Injury Anyway
Mitchell Leff. Getty Images.Well…shit.
Not exactly the news you wanted to hear a couple hours before tip-off. But also…it was only a matter of time. Joel Embiid is 7 feet tall and weighs damn near 300 lbs. The guy is way too big and plays way too hard for a man of that stature to stay healthy throughout the playoffs. If the last round against Brooklyn didn't really feel like a playoff series to you, that's because Embiid was technically healthy during the first 3 games.
But now this is where the playoffs actually begin. Because the Sixers are on the road in Boston for game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, and they'll be without their MVP. Now this is starting to feel more normal.
I'll give Joel Embiid plenty of credit here for a couple of things. The first being that his injuries are getting much easier to swallow. Earlier in his career it seemed like he'd be missing games just because he was fat and lazy and out of shape. No offense to all the fat and lazy and out of shape people out there, but they don't make for great NBA players. There isn't anything Joel Embiid could have done differently to avoid this latest injury, though, unless he just wasn't 7 feet tall. So he's getting hurt because he goes too hard, not because he doesn't go hard enough. And secondly, Joel Embiid has played through a ton of injuries throughout the years and postseasons. If he could play tonight, he'd be in the lineup. Even if he can't play in game 2, he'll probably do everything he can to be in the lineup.
So I love Joel for that. I just wish we had a better annual tradition than Embiid getting hurt in the playoffs.
This is why you get James Harden. This can be a true "I'm Here" night for Tyrese Maxey. Make it happen. Sixers in 7