Jimmy Butler, Doc Rivers talk Joel Embiid, Game One ahead of the start of Round 2 Monday night
There’s still a good amount of uncertainty surrounding Joel Embiid and his broken face, which will now keep him out at least for game one of the second round of the NBA playoffs. However, we do have a few updates from both teams following their practices today.
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Into The Void: Joel Embiid injury and where the 76ers currently stand heading into Round 2 >>
Miami Heat Injury Update
The Heat are dealing with a few minor injuries. Butler (knee), Kyle Lowry (hamstring), PJ Tucker (calf) and Tyle Herro (non-COVID illness) did not practice on Friday, but all attended shoot around today.
According to reports today, Jimmy Butler is confident that his knee will hold up and he’ll be ready for Game 1 on Monday night. Tyler Herro also said that he’s good to go for Game 1.Â
When asked about Joel Embiid’s injury, Butler said that he felt bad for his former teammate and good friend and was hoping he would have the chance to play against Embiid on Monday night.
“I think I speak for everybody that’s a part of this team, we want Jo to play. We want to go up against them at full strength and prove that we can hang with anybody and we can beat anybody.”
Butler also noted that if he had a vote for MVP, it would have went to Joel Embiid.
Doc Rivers at 76ers Practice Today
The Sixers were up 29 points with 4 minutes remaining in the game when Embiid caught an elbow to the face from Pascal Siakam, which prompted several questions as to why Embiid was on the court so late in the game with the game already in hand.
Doc Rivers defended his decision today at practice.
(🎥 @TomMoorePhilly )
I said this last night and I’ll say it again: Hindsight is 20/20.
Of course Joel Embiid was playing up 29 points in a series-clinching win. The 76ers just had two lackluster performances in which they failed to put the final nail in the coffin of the Toronto Raptors and were in desperate need of a complete statement game from start to finish.
I don’t even think this should be talked about it.
What will the 76ers do at center against the Heat?
I have already seen a ton of posts on social media calling for Charles Bassey to get some playoff minutes in Joel Embiid’s absense. Bassey was a full participant at practice today and Doc Rivers stated that he’s going to look at all options ahead of Monday night’s game and that we could see a combination of all four big men getting playoff minutes.
If I had to guess, I think it’s likely that Rivers will turn to a two-man rotation at center with DeAndre Jordan and Paul Reed. Bassey hasn’t even touched the floor in the playoffs and barely got time during the regular season. He’s also coming off an injury so the idea of him actually playing seems unlikely unless the DJ and Reed duo are getting absolutely torched and the 76ers are in desperation mode.
A New-Look Offense
Without Joel Embiid drawing double and triple teams down below, scoring opportunities for the rest of the Philadelphia 76ers will have to come from other key contributors. I said earlier today that Doc Rivers and the rest of the 76ers’ coaching staff will have to completely rethink the way the offense operates without Joel Embiid.
That seems to be the case, with Rivers stating today that we will now see a more “James-Dominated” offense. Rivers continued by talking about James Harden and the need for him to become the 76ers primary scorer and how Harden shouldn’t have any problems doing just that.
Originally tweeted by Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) on April 30, 2022.
Tobias Harris: Nobody is going to feel sorry for us
At the end of the day, the Philadelphia 76ers are still a contending basketball team against the Miami Heat with James Harden, Tobias Harris, and Tyrese Maxey leading the way.
Honestly, I really don’t think the Miami Heat are THAT good of a basketball team. If you contain Jimmy Butler and make the rest of these dorks try to beat you, the 76ers can win this series without Embiid for the first 2-3 games.
In the first round of the playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks, the Heat were everything but playing good team basketball. There were a few big games from Jimmy Butler and one or two outlier performances from the supporting cast that helped them win the series.
I don’t see any reason why the Sixers can operate the same way, with a few big games from either Harden, Harris, or Maxey, along with strong performances from the rest of the supporting cast.
Harris: Nobody is going to feel sorry for us
Originally tweeted by Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) on April 30, 2022.
