Sixers comeback falls short in Houston, play-in without Embiid inevitable

The Sixers. Of course it’s going to end like this.

The Sixers spent the entire second half of this season getting healthy. Embiid back from the oblique. George back from the suspension. Maxey and Oubre returning from their injuries.

For a few weeks it looked like this team was finally going to be whole when it mattered. Then Thursday afternoon in Houston, before tip-off against the Rockets, the organization announced that Joel Embiid had undergone a successful appendectomy and would be out indefinitely.

Joel Embiid has appendicitis and is undergoing surgery in Houston today >>

Fucking wonderful.

To their credit they competed. Down 28 points in the third quarter without their best player in the building, the second unit went to war. Barlow with put-back dunks. Edwards trapping defenders and finishing on the break.

Edgecombe hitting jumpers over Kevin Durant and scoring 21 points while cutting the deficit to five. Maxey with 23. Grimes adding 20 off the bench. They made the Rockets genuinely sweat in a game they had no business being in.

It was not enough. Final score 113-102. Sixers are 43-37 and the 8th seed. 2 games left.

Cursed: Joel Embiid Playoff Injury History

The extent of this man’s postseason injury misfortune is genuinely impossible to exaggerate. Here is the full list.

• 2018: Orbital fracture and concussion.
• 2019: Illness and knee tendinitis.
• 2020: COVID bubble.
• 2021: Torn meniscus.
• 2022: Orbital fracture and torn thumb ligament.
• 2023: Knee sprain.
• 2024: Bell’s palsy.
• 2026: Appendectomy one week before the playoffs.

He has played through all of it at various points. The man is not soft. He is just cursed.

There is no timeline yet for a return. Appendix surgery recovery for light activity is typically one to three weeks. Return to elite athletic competition is three to six weeks minimum. The play-in starts April 14th. Do the math.

Sixers Updated Standings

• 5th: Raptors (45-35) – 6-4 L10, W2
• 6th: Hawks (45-35) – 7-3 L10, L2
• 7th: Magic (44-36) – 6-4 L10, W4
• 8th: 76ers (43-37) ← us – 5-5 L10, L3
• 9th: Hornets (43-37) – 7-3 L10, L1

The Sixers and Hornets are both 43-37 with Philadelphia holding the tiebreaker for eighth. The Magic are a game up in seventh at 44-36. Catching Orlando requires winning both remaining games and the Magic losing at least once. Possible, not probable.

Sixers Remaining Schedule

• Fri Apr 10: at Pacers (15-57) – Must win, tonight
• Sun Apr 12: vs Bucks (29-41) – Must win

The Pacers are 15-57. The Bucks are 29-41. These need to be wins regardless of who is or is not available. The talent gap is still there even without Embiid. Maxey and George need to carry this team through two games and remind themselves they know how to win without him because they have done it before this season.

Win both and finish 45-37. Lock up the eighth seed. That is the entire mission.

Playoff Picture Looking Extra Grim Today

A 1-1 finish at 44-38 risks dropping to ninth if the Hornets win out. The harder play-in path where you need to win the nine-ten game just to get a shot at the eight. A 2-0 finish at 45-37 locks up the eighth seed and a play-in game against the seventh seed with the winner facing the Celtics. If the Magic lose once while the Sixers win both there is a tiebreaker scenario for seventh which is marginally better.

The honest reality is that without Joel Embiid the play-in and literally any other basketball game being played by the Sixers, is going to be a grind.

George and Maxey are capable of winning a one-game elimination setting. The depth showed something real in Houston on Thursday night by cutting 28 down to five without their best player in the building.

This season has had everything. The oblique strain. The suspension. The 157-point blowout of the Bulls. The Charlotte comeback. The Miami collapse. George’s 39-point statement in Washington. Three wins in a row. The Pistons blowout. The Spurs loss. Dropping to the play-in. And then an appendectomy during a road game in Houston while the second unit was cutting a 28-point deficit to five in the third quarter.

It was never going to be clean. It never is with this team.

Two games left. Win both. Hold the eighth seed. Go from there.

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