Saturday, Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports reported that Joel Embiid did not partake in the team's practice a day before facing the Boston Celtics. The former NBA MVP reported dealing with soreness in his right side after the Sixers' 124-117 victory vs. the Miami Heat on Thursday. He produced 26 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and logged 31 minutes in that win.Â
After consulting with more doctors on Saturday, Embiid is dealing with a strained right oblique and will miss Philadelphia's next three games, including Sunday's at TD Garden, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The plan is for him to get re-evaluated after his team's upcoming back-to-back.
Embiid is averaging 26.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game this season. He is shooting 49.5 percent from the floor and has returned to being a master from the mid-range. His play has helped lead the 76ers to a 33-26 record. They are sixth in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Celtics can exploit Joel Embiid's injury
It would be great if this were like a video game, and someone had the power to turn off injuries. Unfortunately, that's not reality. Hopefully, the Sixers' star center makes a quick and full recovery.
While it may be better for Nikola Vucevic's next reps to come against the type of formidable challenge Embiid would have presented, his absence creates opportunity.
Vucevic is coming off his best game with Boston. He generated 28 points, matching Jaylen Brown for a game-high in the Celtics' 148-111 shellacking of the Brooklyn Nets. The 15th-year center did so on 9/13 shooting. He knocked down the trio of shots he launched from behind the arc. He also snagged 11 rebounds and distributed four assists.
The Nets, an undersized opponent, were an ideal foe to help Vucevic and his new teammates continue to get acclimated to each other.
"It's been pretty good, still getting used to, obviously, the new offense and all my teammates and learning your tendencies and things like that; finding my ways," voiced Vucevic after the win. "At times, I do, I feel like I overthink a little bit, which then makes me kind of hesitant and takes away my aggressiveness. And I felt like tonight I was just able to put a little more together, to play off my teammates."
As Vucevic balances playing his game and trusting his instincts with working within the Celtics' system, Jaylen Brown shared his assessment of how that process is going.
"Every day is a day we get better,"Â expressed Brown. "So, continuing to find him in his spots and allow him to feel more comfortable is big time for our team, and today was a great step forward. I like to see him aggressive. I think that's a good sign for us, especially when teams are trying to double or trying to take certain parts of the game away, and I thought he did a good job today."
A 76ers team that's missing Embiid provides another opponent against whom Boston could have an easier time empowering Vucevic against. It's an advantageous opportunity to help him and his teammates continue to develop synergy.