Embiid out indefinitely. Latest on Butler, Lowry. And Heat, 76ers, analysts discuss matchup
The Heat’s impending second-round series against Philadelphia will begin without the 76ers’ MVP candidate.
Philadelphia announced on Friday night that All Star center Joel Embiid will miss at least the first game with a right orbital fracture.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Friday night that Embiid suffered the fracture and a mild concussion in Philadelphia’s series-clinching Game 6 win last night in Toronto and is out, with “no timetable for his return.” The 76ers did not provide any timetable beyond Embiid being ruled out for Game 1.
The injury occurred in a collision with Toronto’s Pascal Siakam, with Philadelphia leading by 29 points and 3:58 left in the game.
This is not the first time Embiid sustained this precise injury. It happened to him on his other eye during the 2017-18 season, underwent surgery and was out for eight regular seasons and two playoff games, before returning to help close out the Heat in a first-round series.
Embiid already has been playing with a torn ligament in his right thumb, an injury that will require surgery in the offseason.
As for the Heat, Jimmy Butler (right knee inflammation), Tyler Herro (non-COVID illness), Caleb Martin (sprained right ankle), Kyle Lowry (strained left hamstring) and P.J. Tucker (strained right calf) were held out of Friday’s practice. Herro, Martin and Tucker played in Tuesday’s victory to close out the Hawks and the belief is they’ll also be ready for the start of the Heat’s second-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers, but Butler and Lowry’s injuries forced them to miss time during the first round.
Butler missed Tuesday’s Game 5 because of his right knee issue and Lowry missed Games 4 and 5 after tweaking his hamstring during Game 3 of the first round on April 22. The hope is both will be available when the Heat opens its second-round series against the 76ers on Monday at FTX Arena, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra wasn’t ready Friday to give a definitive comment on their status.
“Physically, each day we’ll get a better idea,” Spoelstra said. “But everybody has made progress. Everybody was doing something, whether it was in the practice or on the side. I took that as an encouraging sign.”
Specifically on Butler and Lowry, Spoelstra added: “I don’t want to jump the gun on anything. I just like the progress that everybody’s made. We’ll see if they can make more progress tomorrow. It will just be a daily update.”
The Heat is also expected to practice on Saturday and Sunday ahead of Game 1 on Monday.
Butler’s knee issue is not considered serious, with no MRI or other medical tests planned for the injury. Lowry’s strained hamstring is also not considered significant, but it’s an injury that can take a few weeks to heal.
“I’m expecting them to get healthy day by day, honestly,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said when asked if he expects Butler and Lowry to be available for the start of the second round. “If they can go, they can go. If they’re not, we got to go out there regardless. You can’t push back Game 1.”
The 76ers took Friday off after punching their ticket to the second round by eliminating the Raptors in Toronto on Thursday night.
“They’re good, they’re deep, they’re veterans,” 76ers coach Doc Rivers said Thursday of facing the Heat in the second round. “We’re going to go play grown men and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
THE HARDEN, EMBIID CHALLENGE
James Harden has played very well against the Heat — and his friend Butler — in previous seasons, but not this one.
Harden appeared in only one game against the Heat this season, as a member of the Brooklyn Nets in a 13-point Heat win on Oct. 27, and had 14 points, seven assists and four turnovers while shooting 4 for 12 from the field. The Heat has yet to face the 76ers with Harden in the lineup, as Harden missed both games against Miami after he was traded to Philadelphia in February.
“He definitely changes the dynamic,” Spoelstra said Friday of Harden. “You’re talking about an MVP player, a guy who can manipulate the game. He can hurt you whether he’s scoring or whether he’s assisting or whether he’s just manipulating the defense.”
During the Heat’s one game against Harden this season, Butler defended him on at least parts of 30 possessions and Harden went scoreless on those possessions on 0 for 3 shooting, with one assist and one turnover. Brooklyn, as a team, scored just 17 points on those 30 possessions.
Harden was covered by Adebayo on nine possessions in that game and went 0 for 2, with two assists and a turnover. Harden was covered by Tucker on eight possessions and shot 0 for 2, without an assist or turnover.
But Harden has had success against Butler earlier in his career. In their previous matchups before this season (2018-19 and 2019-2020), Harden was defended by Butler on 48 possessions and shot 7 for 9, with 21 points, but with three turnovers and six assists.
Meanwhile, Harden struggled to defend Butler in their one previous meeting this season, allowing Butler to score eight points against him (on 4 for 6 shooting) on the 22 possessions when Harden was involved in covering him.
How has the Heat defended Embiid? This season, Embiid had six points (2 for 5 shooting), two assists and no turnovers in 33 possessions in which Adebayo was involved in defending him, and the 76ers scored 28 points as a team on those 33 possessions. Embiid shot 2 for 8, with four points, in 28 possessions in which Tucker was involved in defending him.
“You’re going to have to double him. It’s pretty simple,” Adebayo said Friday when asked how the Heat will try to slow Embiid, before The Athletic’s report about his orbital fracture. “Getting the ball out of his hands, making it difficult, just giving him difficult shots and not letting him get in a rhythm.”
ANALYST PICKS
Four perspectives on the Heat-76ers series, offered by national TV analysts before The Athletic’s report about Embiid:
▪ TNT’s Charles Barkley: “The reason I like Miami is I know what I’m going to get from Miami every single night. I do not know what I’m going to get from James every night. So that’s why I would side with the Heat.
“The [76ers] play at so many different speeds. They’re so inconsistent. Miami’s going to drive the same speed. They’re going to play hard, smart, defend. So the reason I like Miami, I don’t know if Philadelphia can sustain. They were able to [win] against Toronto, but Toronto’s not on Miami’s level.”
▪ TNT’s Kenny Smith, who picked Philadephia, said: Adebayo “is not going to have the luxury to switch on Joel Embiid, because if you switch on Joel Embiid and you put one of the other Miami Heat members on him, he’s not the type that will just always settle for three. He will post your butt up and he will go over you.
“So Bam’s effectiveness defensively might be limited much more. And his versatility on the defensive end is not going to be a factor. I feel Philly has the big advantage.”
▪ ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins: “With the injuries the Heat has, I have this series going seven. If Lowry and Butler aren’t 100 percent, the 76ers are going to win this series. I love Philly’s chances. Doc Rivers is angry. He has much to prove as Harden and Embiid. An angry Doc Rivers is not someone you want to face right now.
“Adebayo had a lot of complaints about [not winning] Defensive Player of the Year. Guess What? He has his chance now to show us he should have been Defensive Player of the Year.”
▪ TNT’s Shaquille O’Neal: “If [Harden] is aggressive, I like Philly. James Harden is still the key. The better he plays, the farther they go. If they want to make it to the Finals and win a championship, he’s going to have to reach back into that old tank.”
GAME TIME
The NBA announced Friday that Game 4 of the Heat’s playoff series against the 76ers will be played at 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 8 at Wells Fargo Center. TNT will carry the game.
This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 2:24 PM.
