The Miami Heat’s Eastern Conference impending semifinal playoff series took a dramatic and unexpected turn Friday when the Philadelphia 76ers confirmed that All-Star center Joel Embiid is out indefinitely due to a right orbital fracture and concussion.
In a statement, the 76ers said, “Joel Embiid suffered a right orbital fracture and mild concussion in last night’s game vs. Toronto. Embiid is out and further updates will be provided as appropriate.”
Absences with such injuries typically are measured in weeks, not days.
Embiid was injured when he took an elbow to the head from Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam with four minutes remaining in Philadelphia’s series-clinching road victory Thursday night, with little expectation of such a severe diagnosis.
The best-of-seven series against the Heat opens Monday night at FTX Arena, with the first six games to be played every other night.
Embiid already had been playing with a splinted sprained right thumb, with surgery required in the offseason.
The 76ers are limited in their power rotation depth, with other options at center including older veterans DeAndre Jordan and Paul Millsap, as well as neophytes Paul Reed and Charles Bassey.
The 76ers defeated the Heat during the regular season in Embiid’s absence, but now face a more extended challenge.
Embiid suffered a similar injury in 2018, when a collision with teammate Markelle Fultz resulted in a left orbital fracture. Embiid missed the final eight games of that regular season, in addition to the first two games of the 76ers’ first-round playoff series against the Heat.
He then underwent a surgery and returned 22 days after the injury, 19 after the surgery, helping Philadelphia close out the Heat 4-1, the final playoff series of Dwyane Wade’s career.
Embiid returned during that series wearing a protective mask.
According to certified trainer and injury analyst Jeff Stotts of InStreetClothes.com, the average lost time for such an orbital injury is 10 games.
The Heat faced a somewhat similar situation in their opening-round 4-1 series victory over the Atlanta Hawks, with Hawks starting center Clint Capela sidelined for the series’ first three games with a hyperextended knee, before returning for the final two.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and center Bam Adebayo both spoke extensively Friday about the challenges posed by Embiid.
Embiid led the NBA in the regular season with his 30.6 scoring average, and then averaged 26.2 points in the first round against the Raptors.
“You’re going to have to double him, pretty simple,” Adebayo said ahead of the news of Embiid’s status, “getting the ball out of his hands, making it difficult, just giving him difficult shots and not letting him get in a rhythm.”
Spoelstra had spoken of the challenges of containing Embiid.
“One, I don’t have that answer right now,” he said, now with that answer perhaps not needed. “Two, I don’t know if we’ll get that answer. It’s not like you’re going to be able to stop a guy who’s an MVP player. The point is we have to be consistent. We have to make it tough on their main guys and do that consistently, and hopefully just wear on the team and get them out of their comfort zones.”
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