As teams continue to jostle for playoff position in the final weeks of the NBA regular season, there's a giant, 7-foot cloud hanging over the entire Eastern Conference: Will 76ers superstar Joel Embiid return and, if so, when?
Sixers coach Nick Nurse offered as close as we've gotten to an answer on Wednesday, prior to the team's matchup with the LA Clippers. Nurse said there is a "very good likelihood" that Embiid will return before the postseason, which has to be music to the ears of the 76ers and their fans. It's also important to note that Nurse did not offer a concrete timeline for Embiid's potential return to the lineup.
"I think there is a very good likelihood that he will return before the Play-In/Playoff," Nurse said. "He's out there working. He's doing lots of skill work and things like that and just trying to continue to advance all that stuff."
"I think there is a very good likelihood that he will return before the play-in playoff."
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 27, 2024
Nick Nurse gave an update on Joel Embiid with just 10 games left in the regular season 👀 pic.twitter.com/ybn3UvbatJ
Embiid hasn't played since the end of January due to surgery on his left knee. At the time of his injury, Embiid was well on his way to a second straight MVP award, averaging 35 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high six assists per game on 53/37/88 shooting splits. He scored 14 points in the last game he played, which snapped a streak of 22 consecutive 30-point games, a feat only surpassed by James Harden and Wilt Chamberlain. Embiid poured in a career-high 70 points against the Spurs on Jan. 22.
A month ago, Embiid said that he planned on returning this season.
"That's the plan," Embiid told reporters, "Obviously, everything has to go right as far as getting healthy and being as close as I'm supposed to be. But yeah, that's the plan."
Embiid's potential return essentially blows up the entire Eastern Conference hierarchy. The 76ers were flirting with the No. 2 seed at the time of the big man's injury and found themselves in the No. 8 spot prior to Wednesday's games after going 13-25 without their superstar. If Embiid were to return for a potential Play-In and/or playoff scenario, the Sixers would become one of the most imposing lower seeds in NBA history.
Even after Embiid's injury, Philadelphia's front office acted as if he would return, adding sharpshooter Buddy Hield and backup point guard Cam Payne to the roster. Given the emergence of guard Tyrese Maxey this season, Embiid's return would make the 76ers a legitimate threat to come out of the Eastern Conference, no matter where they end up in the standings.
