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It’s Hard to Win Basketball Games When Two of Your Max Contract Players Aren’t Available
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The Sixers lost to the Celtics on Sunday night, 114-98. The game was closer than the scoreline indicates, since Boston pulled away with a run at the end, but Tyrese Maxey and company battled throughout.
Paul George remains suspended for a failed drug test, while Joel Embiid is out for two more games with an oblique strain picked up in the Miami win, the Sixers sending out this release on Saturday:
“An MRI today revealed that Joel Embiid suffered a strained right oblique. The injury occurred during Philadelphia’s 124-117 victory over Miami on Feb. 26. Embiid will miss the team’s next three games and be reevaluated following the upcoming back-to-back.”
The Sixers are now 12-15 in 27 games without Joel Embiid this season and 21-12 in the 33 games he has played. That’s a .444 win percentage when he’s out and a .636 win percentage when he’s in.
In 33 games without Paul George, they’re 17-16 for a .515 win percentage and in 27 games with Paul George they’re 16-11 for a .593 win percentage.
When you combine the two of those guys, the data shows the Sixers with a 6-13 record when both are absent, with their points per game dipping to 111.9 while allowing 118.9 opponent PPG.
The Sixers are now 33-27 and 6th place in the East, two games back from 5-seed Toronto and four games back from four-seed Cleveland. They’re 1.5 games ahead of the Magic and dangerously close to falling into the play-in round with the Spurs, Jazz, Hawks, Cavs, and Grizzlies on the upcoming schedule.
That’s why it’s hard to get excited for this team. Embiid looks great when he’s out there, but he only played five February games. And if he does come back healthy and keep himself on the court down the stretch, then what? The Sixers go play the Knicks in the first round? For who? For what?
We end up right back where we started.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com