The Philadelphia 76ers are set to receive a massive boost on Friday with the return of former MVP Joel Embiid against the Charlotte Hornets.
Having played just six of Philadelphia’s 24 games thus far, Embiid’s latest setback was a right sinus fracture sustained after taking an inadvertent elbow to the face from Indiana Pacers forward Bennedict Mathurin on Dec. 13.
Embiid’s injury was not believed to be as bad as the previous two facial fractures he has suffered — in 2018 and 2022 — and a return to action a week since the injury would confirm that.
Having missed the start of the season due to rehabbing his knee, Embiid has averaged just 20.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and a block per game.
With Paul George and Tyrese Maxey also missing time, the Sixers have gotten off to a dreadful 8-16 start and sit 12th in the East. They are 1.5 games behind the Brooklyn Nets for a Play-In tournament spot and five games behind the Miami Heat for a guaranteed spot in the post-season.
Life With And Without Embiid
Last season, Philadelphia went 16-27 without Embiid and an elite 31-8 when he was present. He was an absolute force, averaging 34.7 points per game, 11.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks while shooting 52.9 percent from the field, 38.8 percent from three and 88.3 percent at the free-throw line.
In 2024-25, the Sixers are 1-5 with him and 7-11 without him. It speaks to other injuries around Embiid and the lack of chemistry that’s been built up to this point — two intertwined components. With a third of the season over, it’s at the point where each absence is crucial.
The Sixers do have another game Saturday against the league-best Cleveland Cavaliers as part of a back-to-back set, and Embiid has already confirmed he has no intention of playing both ends of a back-to-back ever again.
Season Outlook
Philadelphia still has 13 back-to-back sets remaining this season, including Friday and Saturday’s games, which implies Embiid is likely to miss at least another 13 games. Having missed 18 already, that would mean a best-case scenario of playing around 50 games.
That would still be an improvement over last season when he played 39 games. At the very least, the Sixers will be hoping that Paul George can remain healthy the rest of the way. Having hyperextended his knee twice already this season, the six-time All-NBA player has missed 10 of Philadelphia’s 24 games.
George is having a down year by his standards, averaging 17.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.9 steals in the 14 games he’s played. He did have a big performance in Monday’s contest against Charlotte, scoring a season-high 33 points to go along with five rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block.
If both George and Embiid can look like their regular selves and Maxey finds his shooting stroke after struggling through the early season, there is still hope Philadelphia can be more than just a theoretical threat.
