Joel Embiid’s chances of getting out of the second round for the first time in his career just took a massive blow. The Sixers big man is out indefinitely after suffering a right orbital fracture and mild concussion in the team’s series-clinching win over the Raptors on Thursday, the team announced. Embiid appeared to sustain the injury late in the fourth quarter of the victory, with Philly holding a 29-point lead. Already playing with a torn ligament in his right thumb, Embiid’s status for the Sixers’ series—which begins Monday—against the Heat is now unclear.
To put it bluntly, Philly is in trouble. In 44 minutes with James Harden on the floor without Embiid during the first round, the Sixers had a minus-6.8 net rating. And that was actually an improvement over how Philly performed in Harden’s solo minutes during the regular season, when the team had a minus-10.2 net rating. (For context, the league-worst Blazers had a minus-9.1 net rating. The Sixers with Harden and no Embiid played like a lottery team.)
