The entire NBA world, Toronto Raptors fans included, had to hold their breath during the Philadelphia 76ers’ win against the Washington Wizards, as MVP-caliber center Joel Embiid, who has been riddled with injuries in his pro career, went down with what appeared to be a non-contact knee injury.
Embiid is averaging just under 30 points per game this season, all the while piling up 11.6 rebounds while shooting 52% from the floor. It makes sense that he’s currently at the top of the NBA’s hypothetical MVP ladder.
Embiid has helped the 76ers race out to the top seed in the Eastern Conference, as Doc Rivers’ bunch and the mighty Brooklyn Nets appear to be on a collision course for the Conference Finals. Embiid getting injured throws all of that into question.
Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne are reporting that while there is by no means a hard and fast timeline for Embiid to return to action after suffering a bone bruise, the expectation is that Embiid is going to miss around two weeks given how “deep” his bruise is.
ESPN Sources with @ramonashelburne: Philadelphia Sixers star Joel Embiid's MRI showed no structural damage to his left knee, just a bone bruise. ACL and meniscus are fine. No timeline yet on a return.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 13, 2021
Does Embiid’s injury change things for the Raptors, or should they give up on trying for the division crown?
Can the Raptors challenge the 76ers without Joel Embiid?
The Raptors have already played all of their requisite games against Philadelphia, so there isn’t a true chance to challenge Philly head-to-head. However, given how hot the Brooklyn Nets have been over the last few weeks, the 76ers could easily slip out of first place in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division.
The Raptors have a very winnable stretch of basketball ahead of them, as five of their next six games are against teams with losing records. However, not having players like Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby available makes things very difficult for the Raptors to get any sort of consistency.
Still, considering how much the Philly offense runs through Embiid, one of Toronto’s biggest rivals could lumber through a difficult part of their schedule without their best player on both sides of the floor.
These next two weeks are going to be pivotal for Toronto, as the only hope that they have of leapfrogging Philadelphia in the standings hinges on Philly falling apart without Embiid and Toronto beating the Knicks and Nets enough to make up the difference.
Either one of those two seemingly co-dependent actions failing to be realized could lead to the 76ers maintaining their iron grip on the division, which is bad news for Nick Nurse and a Raptors lacking the depth to make a true run.