Playing without their best player (Joel Embiid, in this case) is not how any team wants to proceed in the NBA Playoffs. And it’s certainly not how the Philadelphia 76ers hoped to face the Eastern Conference’s top-seeded Miami Heat in round 2.
But here we are.
And the 76ers official Instagram account is trying to encourage its players to meet the challenge without their star teammate.
“Shoot your shot,” reads a caption on a post that features Tobias Harris, James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Shake Milton, and Matisse Thybulle. The instruction is meant both literally and figuratively.
After all, with Embiid out, there are 19.6 more shots to shoot for the Sixers, at the very least.
When Joel Embiid missed extended playing time at an earlier juncture due to a rough bout with Covid-19, 76ers head coach Doc Rivers was asked what does it say about your team, how you respond to playing without Embiid?
Rivers quickly responded that “it doesn’t say anything about our team — our team is when Joel plays.”
That’s true enough, but an Embiid-led 76ers team is not what will face the Miami Heat in the second round of the NBA Playoffs. At least not during the first two games, after Embiid’s orbital socket injury and concussion.
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