Because it seems, the Nets’ win over the spiraling Philadelphia 76ers final weekend was Joel Embiid’s last sport of the season.
The celebrity heart is “medically unable to play” as a consequence of his ailing left knee and shall be shut down for the rest of the season, the Sixers introduced Friday.
“We are working with medical experts to determine the exact treatment plan,” the 76ers stated in a press release.
It’s a improvement with important implications for the Nets — each within the Japanese Convention standings and by way of draft place.
As losers of 9 video games in a row, the Sixers (20-38) started Friday a sport behind the Nets for the eleventh seed within the East.
Each groups are within the combine for the ultimate spot within the Play-In Match, which at the moment belongs to the Tenth-seeded Chicago Bulls. The Bulls started Friday with a 1.5-game lead over the Nets and a 2.5-game lead over Philly.
Embiid’s absence additional dampens the Sixers’ probabilities at sneaking into the Play-In Match. However it additionally will increase the chance that Philadelphia finally ends up with one of many prime picks on this summer season’s NBA Draft.
The 76ers personal the NBA’s sixth-worst document and thus have the sixth-best odds to land the No. 1 choose within the draft lottery at 9.0%, in line with Tankathon. They’re one spot forward of the Nets, who’ve the seventh-best odds at 7.5%.
Philadelphia has added incentive to lose, contemplating its 2025 first-round choose is top-six protected.
Which means if the Sixers come out of the lottery with a top-six choice, they may preserve their choose. But when they find yourself with No. 7 or worse, the choose will convey to the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder to finish a 2020 commerce that despatched Danny Inexperienced to Philly.
It’s a super draft to personal a premium choose in, with Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Rutgers’ Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey among the many extremely touted prospects.
Many prognosticators anticipated the Nets to be robust contenders for the No. 1 choose after they traded their greatest participant, Mikal Bridges, to the Knicks within the offseason.
Brooklyn additionally reacquired management of its 2025 and 2026 first-round picks from the Houston Rockets over the summer season — a transfer that appeared to point the Nets anticipated to be choosing excessive.
The Nets traded away Dennis Schroeder and Dorian Finney-Smith in December, then purchased out Ben Simmons and waived Bojan Bogdanović in February.
However veterans Cam Johnson and Nic Claxton have made it clear the Nets usually are not fascinated about tanking. Brooklyn entered Friday as winners in seven of its final 11 video games.
On Friday, main scorer Cam Thomas returned to face the Portland Path Blazers at Barclays Middle following a 24-game absence for a left hamstring pressure. The Nets might get even more healthy for the house stretch, with D’Angelo Russell and Noah Clowney probably getting back from ankle accidents subsequent week.
“Injuries are a part of basketball,” head coach Jordi Fernandez stated earlier than Friday’s sport. “Obviously, you don’t want the major injuries, but we have to have a next-man mentality. If right now we can have everybody back, then it’s gonna be even better, because that creates healthy competition within the group.”
The Sixers are trending in the wrong way.
Embiid, a seven-time All-Star and the 2022-23 NBA MVP, underwent surgical procedure for a torn meniscus in his left knee just a little over a yr in the past, then performed within the Sixers’ first-round playoff collection towards the Knicks and for Group USA within the Summer season Olympics.
However all through this season, that knee clearly compromised Embiid, who ended up taking part in solely 19 video games and posted averages of 23.8 factors, 8.2 rebounds and 44.4% taking pictures that paled compared to his pre-injury manufacturing.
Nonetheless, the 76ers went 8-9 with Embiid, regardless that they misplaced every of his last 5 appearances. The final of these got here final Saturday, when Embiid sat out for your entire fourth quarter within the Nets’ 105-103 win in Philadelphia.
The Sixers are 12-29 with out Embiid this season.
