By Jarrod Castillo
Joel Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP, made his comeback for the 76ers against the Oklahoma City Thunder on April 2. He'd been out of action for over a month in the 2023-24 NBA regular season due to a left meniscus injury he picked up during a game against the Golden State Warriors in late January.
The 30-year-old had to have surgery to fix the damage. At first, it wasn't clear if the operation would mean Embiid would miss the rest of the regular season.
ESPN gave more details about how long Embiid's recovery might take, saying that the centre would be out for at least four weeks. By the time he came back, Embiid had been out for seven weeks because of the injury and Philadelphia will have seven games left before the playoffs start.
This is important given where the 76ers are in the Eastern Conference standings. Without their star centre, Philadelphia dropped down to the Play-In Tournament positions. The team is hoping they can grab the No. 6 seed with a late push. Even if they don't manage it, having Embiid back will give them a boost in confidence for the NBA Playoffs.
In the 34 games Embiid played, the 76ers were 26-8, which was the best in the Eastern Conference and good for a. 765 win percentage. Had Embiid remained injury-free the entire season, the 76ers would have been on pace to win 63 games (. 768 win percentage).
However, after Embiid went down, Philadelphia struggled mightily, winning only 14 of its last 41 games, good for a. 341 winning percentage. In doing so, the 76ers now sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference and have played like a 28-win team without Embiid in the lineup.
With Embiid now in the fold, the 76ers have a fighting chance of making a push to make it out of the play-in picture. As it stands, the sixth-seeded Indiana Pacers are only 2.5 games ahead of the 76ers, with the New York Knicks sitting in the fourth-seed, only 4.5 games ahead of Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks occupy the ninth and 10th seeds, respectively and both teams have an outside chance of chance of catching the 76ers. Nevertheless, the 76ers' main goal now is to overtake the Pacers to get out of the play-in tournament.
Currently, all seeds from one to six will avoid the Play-In Tournament and the 76ers want to avoid an early disappointment, Philadelphia will have to essentially win out to give itself the best chance to sneak into the playoffs. Indiana also will have to stumble down the stretch if the 76ers are to catch them.
If the 76ers don't manage to avoid the Play-In Tournament, they'll have to face the Heat - who are currently in seventh place. If Philadelphia lose to Miami, they'll then have to play against the winner of the ninth and 10th seed to see if they can make it to the playoffs.
The team that wins this match will be considered the eighth seed, and any teams that lose will be out of the running for the playoffs. This means every game is super important for the 76ers, especially as they hope to win the championship.
But things are looking up for Philadelphia. With Embiid coming back soon, their chances of getting a playoff spot have improved because he's the reigning NBA MVP and will give the team a big boost.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.
