Embiid out game 1; will play Game 2

[celticsclay]

Per athletic Embid is doubtful for game one. If this is true we can’t mess around.

[Donoghus]

Which makes losing Game 5 even more infuriating

[Phantom255x]

This tells me if we simply took care of business today, Embiid would have been out today and probably also Game 2 (Monday). Instead there's a chance he can come back Game 2 on Wednesday and have those additional few days of rest.

[Who]

I posted this in the predictions thread but probably better off over here. I did not see this thread at the time.

PHI are still very good without Embiid.

Harden, Maxey and T Harris all get to see more of the ball and be more comfortable in the offense when Embiid is not around. They step up and replace most of his offense.

The bigger loss is the interior D and rebounding.

We do not want to underestimate Philly without Embiid. They are still an above average team without Embiid. The ball moves a lot better without his post ups and isolations. Their perimeter guys are more comfortable and more dangerous on offense without him around. And those perimeter guys have the offense to do damage.

[celticsclay]

I posted this in the predictions thread but probably better off over here. I did not see this thread at the time.

PHI are still very good without Embiid.

Harden, Maxey and T Harris all get to see more of the ball and be more comfortable in the offense when Embiid is not around. They step up and replace most of his offense.

The bigger loss is the interior D and rebounding.

We do not want to underestimate Philly without Embiid. They are still an above average team without Embiid. The ball moves a lot better without his post ups and isolations. Their perimeter guys are more comfortable and more dangerous on offense without him around. And those perimeter guys have the offense to do damage.

I agree. But this pushes Harrell into actually playing a role. Seems like a million years ago people thought that was a good signing by them.

[Vermont Green]

This tells me if we simply took care of business today, Embiid would have been out today and probably also Game 2 (Monday). Instead there's a chance he can come back Game 2 on Wednesday and have those additional few days of rest.

I don’t know. All of that is possible but you don’t know. I suspect that if his knee is that bad, it isn’t going to be much better plus or minus a couple of days. I would say if it is bad enough to keep him out of a game, It is probably going to bother him the rest of the playoffs.

[hpantazo]

I believe Doc. He’s been honest about injuries in the past as the Celtics coach and if anything the injuries are usually worse than he lets on.

I also believe this means the Celtics will underestimate the Sixers and lose one or two of the first few games without Embiid and then have to work extra hard the rest of the series to pull it out.

[Phantom255x]

I posted this in the predictions thread but probably better off over here. I did not see this thread at the time.

PHI are still very good without Embiid.

Harden, Maxey and T Harris all get to see more of the ball and be more comfortable in the offense when Embiid is not around. They step up and replace most of his offense.

The bigger loss is the interior D and rebounding.

We do not want to underestimate Philly without Embiid. They are still an above average team without Embiid. The ball moves a lot better without his post ups and isolations. Their perimeter guys are more comfortable and more dangerous on offense without him around. And those perimeter guys have the offense to do damage.

I agree. But this pushes Harrell into actually playing a role. Seems like a million years ago people thought that was a good signing by them.

Their depth behind Embiid isn't exactly that great. Reed, then Dedmon/Harrell? Lol.

They'll really need to rely on Maxey, Harden AND Harris to keep them afloat in scoring, because losing Embiid isn't just about the rebounds/interior presence, but he basically averages them 35-40 PPG most nights. And their bench isn't so hot

[Phantom255x]

I believe Doc. He’s been honest about injuries in the past as the Celtics coach and if anything the injuries are usually worse than he lets on.

I also believe this means the Celtics will underestimate the Sixers and lose one or two of the first few games without Embiid and then have to work extra hard the rest of the series to pull it out.

Lol yep. Wish the C's just made it easier for themselves. I mean the path is literally best case scenario for them (ATL, then PHI, then MIA/NY with HCA throughout including Finals)

There's still two days left, so maybe Embiid gets "upgraded" to questionable. But you're right, Doc doesn't usually make stuff up and play obvious "mind games" about things. We'll see. I do think it's kind of telling that Embiid hasn't done much in terms of practice/drills over the past week. If he doesn't tomorrow, I think he's out Monday. But I think he will definitely play Game 2, if not Game 1.

[tazzmaniac]

I posted this in the predictions thread but probably better off over here. I did not see this thread at the time.

PHI are still very good without Embiid.

Harden, Maxey and T Harris all get to see more of the ball and be more comfortable in the offense when Embiid is not around. They step up and replace most of his offense.

The bigger loss is the interior D and rebounding.

We do not want to underestimate Philly without Embiid. They are still an above average team without Embiid. The ball moves a lot better without his post ups and isolations. Their perimeter guys are more comfortable and more dangerous on offense without him around. And those perimeter guys have the offense to do damage.

The Sixers are dead without Embiid.  No need to double anyone.  Just play them straight up.  The only matchup where they'd have an advantage is Harden vs. Smart but that is not a big advantage anymore.  Harden/Embiid was the top assist combo in the league.  With Embiid, the Sixers offrtg was 119.0 and defrtg was 110.2.  Without Embiid, their offrtg was 112.3 and defrtg was 113.8. 

Embiid hasn't been posting up nearly as much (4.5 possessions/game vs. 7.8 last season and 9.3 the previous season).  They're playing him at the elbows a lot more.  More passing does not necessarily equate to better ball movement.  A single pass out of a double team to an open shooter is the best ball movement. 

[MattyIce]

This tells me if we simply took care of business today, Embiid would have been out today and probably also Game 2 (Monday). Instead there's a chance he can come back Game 2 on Wednesday and have those additional few days of rest.

although now he won't have rest between game 2 and 3

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

This tells me if we simply took care of business today, Embiid would have been out today and probably also Game 2 (Monday). Instead there's a chance he can come back Game 2 on Wednesday and have those additional few days of rest.

My biggest concern is that with Embiid out, Boston will presume the win ... and thus lose.

[SHAQATTACK]

That’s bad news for Boston IMO, this team plays down , doesn’t try , thinks it can roll over teams down a star .  Pretty much just makes me not trust them playing hard .  Like they feel sorry for their opponents or something.  They just go brain dead when they catch a break , never maximize it . If you beat them by 50 pts , then do it !

A KG / Paul P title title team would Knick their cans  no matter how down the opponents are on Stars 

I don’t trust these Celtics , other than Al and Brown maybe Smart to show up ready to do business. And the coach is the worst about mental preparation of his team. 

I was hoping Embiid was playing.   

i f P hilly wins without Embiid is a confidence builder and look for a long series ,

[Neurotic Guy]

As we all know, a team minus a star often steps up, plays loose, play with less pressure because the expectations are lower. Being on the road can also help.  It’s a team with a superstar in Harden and a star in Maxey, and Harris and Tucker can play tough/ make big contributions.   

I don’t know how much losing Embiid for game 1 really hurts them. I guess we’ll see.

[Atzar]

This tells me if we simply took care of business today, Embiid would have been out today and probably also Game 2 (Monday). Instead there's a chance he can come back Game 2 on Wednesday and have those additional few days of rest.

My biggest concern is that with Embiid out, Boston will presume the win ... and thus lose.

Yeah, seen that movie too many times to expect a different ending now.  Hope we're wrong.