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The Philadelphia 76ers enter the second round of the 2023 NBA playoffs after a sweep of the Brooklyn Nets in the opening round, which would’ve likely been viewed as a sign of a team turning the corner in the playoffs. However, a familiar Philadelphia story continued to unfold with big man Joel Embiid suffering a knee injury in Game 3 of that series. Here’s a look at Embiid’s status ahead of Game 1 in the second round against the Boston Celtics.
Joel Embiid injury updates
Update: Embiid has been ruled out for Game 1, but Adrian Wojnarowski says there’s optimism he could return for Game 2 on Wednesday. With the big man officially out, the 76ers are sizable underdogs for Game 1 Monday.
Embiid is officially listed as doubtful for this contest, even though the 76ers initially believed he would only miss a few days with what was being called a knee sprain. It’s now clear the knee injury is worse than just a minor sprain, and Embiid could miss a few games in this series. The Celtics have dominated the 76ers in recent postseasons, and it’s hard to see Philadelphia putting up a fight without its MVP-caliber center.
With Embiid expected to be out, Paul Reed likely gets the start at center. James Harden and Tyrese Maxey become the focal points of this offense, and Tobias Harris will take on a bigger scoring role.