One of the major stories this week in the NBA is Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid tearing a ligament in his left hand, requiring surgery. Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, he'll be re-evaluated in 1-2 weeks and is out indefinitely. Even though the 76ers are used to Embiid getting hurt, that doesn't mean it's easy for them to soldier on without him. He's averaging 23.4 points and 12.3 rebounds per game, which are big numbers to fill when he goes down.
Assuming he's out for only a few weeks, his absence is still significant given where the 76ers sit in the Eastern Conference standings. They're in 5th place with a 25-15 record, just a half game up on the 6th seeded Indiana Pacers and a full game back of the 4th seeded Toronto Raptors. When things are as tight as they are, going without your top player for any stretch of time hurts.
With Embiid out, Tobias Harris (19.4 points & 6.5 rebounds), Ben Simmons (15.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, & 8.4 assists), and Al Horford (12.4 points & 6.5 rebounds) will need to step up. The 76ers do have enough depth to keep the ship afloat, but all of these guys, especially Horford, will need to step it up. They're certainly capable of doing so, but they're still going to have to go out and get it done.
Of those three guys that I mentioned, Simmons probably needs to step it up the most. Alongside Embiid, he's billed as the main attraction on this team and now is his time to really shine. He needs to start playing like a guy who is capable of carrying a team. Now is his chance to show that he can do that.
While the 76ers do have the pieces to weather this storm, it's still going to be interesting to see how they do over these next few weeks. With how close this race in the Eastern Conference is, these next couple of weeks could make or break their season. It's the harsh truth.
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