The Process is Holding It’s Breath

29 Mar, 2018

The Sixers need Joel Embiid to be successful in the playoffs and they are not going to have him for a while.

Embiid not only suffered a concussion in Wednesday’s collision with Markelle Fultz, he also endured an orbital fracture of his left eye that requires surgery in “the coming days,” according to the team.

Two weeks before the start of the postseason.

No timetable has been announced and a sense of his availability will be reevaluated following the surgery. ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported Embiid could play in two to four weeks. Two weeks gets him in the first round. Four does not.

Locking up home-court advantage is of the utmost importance for the Sixers (44-30). It had been their goal prior to Embiid’s injury. Now it is vital. The Sixers, who already clinched a playoff spot, currently hold the fourth seed: half a game behind the Cavaliers and half a game ahead of the Pacers.

If the Sixers are going to be without Embiid, their leading scorer and rebounder, their biggest X-factor could be their home crowd. The Sixers have been nearly unstoppable at the Wells Fargo Center. They have lost only one game at home in 2018 and have not lost two in a row in Philadelphia since Dec. 19-21. In contrast, the Sixers are 18-19 overall on the road this season.

If the playoffs were to start Thursday, the Sixers would face the Pacers in the first round. The Pacers are a different team home and away: 18-18 on the road compared to 26-13 in Indianapolis. The Wizards (sixth place) are nearly identical in either environment (21-17 home, 20-16 road). If the Sixers held on to a top-four spot and the seventh-seeded Heat or eighth-seeded Bucks moved up in the standings, those also are two teams who are below .500 on the road: Heat 17-22, Bucks 16-20.

The Sixers have a remaining schedule that makes home court attainable in spite of Embiid’s absence. They play only two playoff teams, the Cavaliers and Bucks, and the rest are looking toward the lottery. The Sixers have to lock in for their upcoming games against the Hawks (twice), Hornets, Nets, Mavericks and Pistons. They still have enough talent to get out to big leads against subpar opponents; it’s about buckling down for four quarters with a collaborative team effort to ice these necessary wins.

Embiid’s injury has not changed the Sixers’ goal of home-court advantage. Reaching it has become more difficult, but not out of the question.

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