After he collides with a Raptors player late in the game, he is tended to on the bench. There is a time and a place.
Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers said after the team's practice Saturday that he didn't have any second thoughts about the team's decision to play Joel Embiid after he suffered a facial injury and concussion.
The other team had all their guys in, too, according to Rivers.
If you watch the game after he made the shot, I will call a timeout on the next possession. If you want, you can make that a big deal. Go look at every team, and every game, and their guys are in until about 3 minutes into the game. That is what it is.
The play was initially called for a defensive foul by the refs, but Rivers challenged it and the play was overturned. He stayed on the bench for the rest of the game, before the team announced he would be out indefinitely with a facial injury and a concussion.
The 76ers are unsure of when they will get their star center back in the playoffs, or if they will at all in the series against the Heat.
Rivers told reporters that the 76ers will try to replace the minutes of Embiid with different players. We are worried about the last six minutes. That will be the key for us in this series.
Paul Reed, a second-year big man, was the understudy in the Toronto series. Rivers said that rookies Charles Bassey and DeAndre Jordan could see time against the Miami team that features its own star center in Bam Adebayo.
Even if it is to burn minutes, we may need all four guys. They are foul magnets. That is a concern for us. They shoot free throws well, so we don't want to play the whole series in the penalty. Some of our guys are in foul trouble.
The best at it in the series right now is Jimmy Butler, but a lot of it is done by Barak and Kyle. We need to be very smart in how we plan our bigs.
No amount of planning will make up for his absence. The 76ers have built their team around both ends of the court, and one of the reasons is because of the work done by their center, who is a finalist for the NBA's Most Valuable Player award for a second consecutive season. While Philadelphia has a few other scoring options it can turn to in James Harden, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris to try to make up for his production, it has no answers for how to make up for his loss.
Harris said that they want him to get healthy and better, and that they will be ready whenever that is.
We have to figure it out. This has been a resilient group all year and nothing has changed. We will prepare the same way and wait for the big man to get what he needs.
When he collided with teammate Markelle Fultz and suffered a left facial fracture and concussion, he had to have surgery immediately and missed the first two games of the playoffs.
The team hasn't said if surgery will be needed, which gives some hope that the timetable for a return will be quicker. With games being played every other day starting Monday in Miami, the 76ers are going to have to get through at least part of the series without him.
We need him back at some point, but we don't know when and we have to hold the fort. We have had a lot of stuff thrown at us this year, maybe this is another test in that.
I can tell you that we are not going anywhere. When we get to Miami, this team will be ready.
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