Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid possibly missing postseason would be crushing

While Joel Embiid is expected to miss at least two games due to a facial contusion, there seems to be some concerns over the injury possibly keeping him out longer.

Despite picking up their eighth win in a row on Wednesday after taking down the New York Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers still suffered a loss when it comes to superstar center Joel Embiid, who was forced to leave the game early on after suffering a facial contusion following a collision with Markelle Fultz. At first, the injury didn’t seem like that big of a deal after the Sixers announced the All-Star would miss at least the next two games, but it appears there may be additional reasons for concern over Embiid if the injury is more serious than expected.

Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Thursday how Embiid is undergoing further tests due to the fear of suffering a fracture to the orbital bone of his left eye, which is the last news any fan in the City of Brotherly Love wants to hear right now. Without question, the Sixers are a completely different team when Embiid is in the lineup, and while Brett Brown would feel confident in making the necessary adjustments, this kind of news is never easy to accept for a playoff team competing to host at least one series at home in the postseason.

Even more concerning, Pompey mentioned at the end of the article how much of a disadvantage Philadelphia could have in the playoffs if Embiid was limited or worse, unable to play. Here’s part of what Pompey had to say about this whole situation with Embiid:

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"Embiid went through the concussion protocol, and it was ruled that he doesn’t have a concussion. However, he went to a hospital for more testing. The Sixers did not give an update after the game, but Embiid posted a video on his Instagram story feed from his hospital room late Wednesday. In the video, his face appeared to be swollen under a caption that read, “Not good.”The standout is arguably the league’s best post player, averaging 22.9 points, 11 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. The Sixers (44-30) have eight regular-season games remaining. They will be at a huge disadvantage in the postseason if he’s limited or unable to play."

Obviously, there’s no reason to hit the panic button just yet since this is a big “what if” at the moment before Embiid undergoes additional tests, but it’s still a stressful possibility to think about. As bad as it sounds, no matter who were to fill in for Embiid if his absence were to extend into the postseason, there’s no replacing the dominant impact the former Kansas star displays most games.

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Unfortunately, all the Sixers and their fans can do at the moment is wait to see how these additional tests go, as they prepare for Thursday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks. At least without Embiid, Philadelphia should have little trouble defeating Atlanta when looking at how horrendous their season has been for the most part, although that doesn’t mean they won’t be looking to play the spoiler role for a team battling for playoff seeding.