The Philadelphia 76ers thumped the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their first round series, lighting it up from the perimeter en route to a 130-103 win to take a 1-0 series lead. The win made it 17 in a row for the Sixers and the ninth in a row without All-Star center Joel Embiid, who sat out as he continues to work back from a concussion and having surgery to repair a facial fracture.
Embiid has been optimistic about his chances to return to Philly’s lineup soon, but notes it will continue to be up to the Sixers doctors to determine when he returns. On Sunday, Embiid cleared one of the final major roadblocks to his return to the court, passing the NBA’s concussion protocol, as reported by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, although he will still sit out Game 2 of the series.
Joel Embiid has cleared NBA concussion protocol but remains out for Game 2 tomorrow
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) April 15, 2018
https://twitter.com/ramonashelburne/status/985556372698918913
This is good news for Embiid and the Sixers and one would anticipate a return for the All-Star at some point when the series shifts to Miami. Game 3 isn’t until Thursday, which gives Embiid four days from being cleared in concussion protocol to ramp up his on-court activity even more and get himself back into playing shape and form.
Embiid’s absence has not hampered the Sixers one bit, as Ben Simmons has led the way along with strong production from Dario Saric, Robert Covington, and veterans like J.J. Redick, Ersan Ilyasova, and Marco Belinelli. The way that group has elevated their game with Embiid out will make how they integrate their star center back into the fold an intriguing storyline, but one that the Sixers will be happy to deal with.
With Embiid out for Game 2, it will be very interesting to see if the Heat make a change to their starting lineup as Hassan Whiteside was rendered all but useless in Game 1, playing only 12 minutes against various small-ball looks from Philadelphia.
