The Philadelphia 76ers entered the 2022 NBA Postseason with some high expectations. After acquiring James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets, they cemented themselves as contenders for the NBA Championship.
As the playoffs got underway, the biggest question mark that the 76ers faced was if they could get Harden back on track. Harden was keeping up his performance as an excellent playmaker, setting his new teammates up despite limited time to build chemistry. But, his jump shot was still inconsistent.
Harden struggled mightily knocking down jumpers with the Nets, some of which can be attributed to him coming into the regular season out of shape. Once his trade request became public, he seemed to mail it in even further.
He is still struggling with his efficiency overall but is making 39.1 percent of his 3-point attempts thus far in the postseason. But, the 76ers are going to need him to take his game to another level with the unfortunate news surrounding All-Star center and MVP finalist, Joel Embiid.
LATEST NBA NEWS: How Far Can Joel Embiid Take Sixers In 2022 NBA Playoffs?
Embiid has battled injuries throughout his career. This season, outside of a nine-game stretch he missed because of being in the league’s health and safety protocols, Embiid was very healthy, not once missing consecutive games. He won’t miss time in the postseason, but for the second straight year, he is going to be dealing with a serious injury.
Last year, Embiid suffered a torn meniscus. He fought through the injury and kept playing and that is what he is going to do this year with the torn ligaments in his thumb. Embiid is against missing time as the plan, right now, is for him to undergo surgery in the offseason.
While it is courageous of Embiid to fight through yet another injury to help his team win, him not being 100 percent healthy dooms their chances of being serious title contenders. Every game that he plays with those torn ligaments in his thumb is going to cause excruciating pain. This was an injury that other players such as Jerami Grant of the Detroit Pistons and Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat suffered this season and they both missed multiple weeks recovering.
LATEST NBA NEWS: How Far Can Joel Embiid Take Sixers In 2022 NBA Playoffs?
If surgery is already known to be required, there may not be more damage that can be done to the ligament by Embiid continuing to play. It will be a pain tolerance thing for him, which he has shown that he can battle through in the past.
There is still a question about how effective Embiid will be on the court while navigating this injury. In Game 4 against the Raptors, Embiid played 39 minutes, scoring 21 points with eight rebounds, three assists and five turnovers.
If the Philadelphia 76ers want to make noise in this postseason, they are going to need more production than that from their best player. The question remains though, how much more can Embiid give them given the injury that he is dealing with? The injury is to his right hand, which is his shooting hand, so he can be hampered offensively going forward.
With Embiid nowhere near 100 percent healthy, the 76ers are going to need other players to step up in his absence. James Harden improving would go a long way to the team, but other complementary players such as Tyrese Maxey and Tyrese Maxey will have to continue playing at a high level as well.
Without a true backup center on the roster, the 76ers are in a tough spot with Embiid being hampered. Doc Rivers could turn to DeAndre Jordan if he needs some size, but Jordan hasn’t provided positive minutes in years.
LATEST NBA NEWS: How Far Can Joel Embiid Take Sixers In 2022 NBA Playoffs?
More than likely, the 76ers will continue playing smaller, leaning on Georges Niang and Paul Reed behind Embiid. While that can work in certain situations, such as against the undersized Raptors, there are teams that the 76ers could run into, deeper into the postseason, that will take full advantage of their lack of size on the interior.
Injuries are an unfortunate part of the game, one that has impacted the Philadelphia 76ers in recent years. But, without a healthy Embiid, it is hard to imagine Philadelphia being able to be legitimate contenders this postseason without a Herculean performance from James Harden.
