Joel Embiid is the Philadelphia 76ers’ main driving force. They do have James Harden, Thread Maxey, Tobias Harris etc, but without Embiid, this team falls like a pack of cards. We saw that again today as the Miami Heat blanked them out. It is not a coincidence that whenever Embiid misses a game or has an unusually poor game; the 76ers fall apart.

It was most recently seen in the game 4 and 5 against the Toronto Raptors in the first round. Embiid’s thumb injury limited him for those two matches. The 76ers were on the verge of a meltdown because of those losses. Now, Miami has banked on Embiid-less 76ers two times and is in prime position to get through to the Conference Finals. A score of 103-119 can’t be ignored even by coach Doc Rivers.

Regarding Embiid’s orbital fracture injury, there has been some news as of late. Chris Hayes reported he texted Embiid about his situation. Embiid mentioned he was feeling better. According to Embiid, he could only use the phone yesterday as its brightness was causing problems. Haynes mentioned he is still on the bed with no timeline for his return.

Fans reaction to this news

The 76ers fans are anxious now. Without Embiid, they know their team can fall apart. Hence, the fan reactions are trending mostly towards doom and gloom. These are some of the despondent reactions by Sixers fans on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/GoldnerPDX/status/1522037834730721280?t=oHt86yF5s5ntP65vQxjttg&s=19

76ers without Joel Embiid

The Sixers were absolutely dire today. They connected on just eight of their 30 three-pointers. Tyrese Maxey led the way with 34 points, often willing his team to stay within striking distance with crafty and authoritative finishes at the basket. Tobias Harris added 21 points, four assists, and four rebounds.

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James Harden, on the other hand, totaled 20 points (6 of 15 from the floor, 1 of 5 from three-point range, 7 of 7 from the free throw line) and nine assists. He scored just two points in the third quarter. Rivers started DeAndre Jordan again. He started off well but, like the team, he too faded.

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An Embiid-less 76ers look flaccid and without ideas. Doc Rivers has to change his approach, otherwise Philadelphia will face humiliation at the hands of Miami.