The Philadelphia 76ers will be without All-Star center Joel Embiid when they open up their first round playoff series against the Miami Heat on Saturday night. Sixers head coach Brett Brown made an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show today and revealed that Embiid will miss Game 1 but left the door open for a return later in the first round series.
"He will not play in Game 1," Sixers coach Brett Brown told The Dan Patrick Show on Friday. "From that point going forward, we'll figure some stuff out. But unless something remarkable happens ... I don't plan on him playing in Game 1."
Embiid, who averaged 22.9 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 63 games this season, suffered an orbital bone fracture on March 28 and missed the final eight games of the season. According to ESPN, Embiid told reporters earlier this week that he will return to the court "soon."
Despite his absence, the Sixers continued to roll down the stretch, winning a franchise-record 16 straight games (and counting) as they enter the playoffs as the three seed with a record of 52-30.
In addition to the Embiid injury, Brett Brown also spoke about rookie point guard Markelle Fultz, who he says will continue to back up fellow rookie Ben Simmons.
"I feel like I'm going to continue on with how I played him primarily as Ben Simmons' backup point guard, and judge it from there," Brown said. "... I intend on using him going into the playoffs that way."
Game 1 of the Heat vs Sixers series is scheduled to tip off on ESPN at 8:00pm ET tomorrow night.