Broken record? Groundhog day? Deja Vu?
What do you call a time when things seem to be going well for the Sixers only to be somewhat derailed by a Joel Embiid injury? Well, pick one and stick to it because the Sixers announced Saturday that Embiid will miss the next three games with a right oblique strain sustained in Thursday's win over the Miami Heat.
That means he will miss Sunday's game in Boston, as well as the Tuesday and Wednesday home back-to-back games against the San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz.
In a season in which he has been limited due to right knee management and right shin soreness, Embiid will now miss his 27th, 28th and 29th games of the season, including being out for eight of the last 10 when this three-game absence concludes. The team announced that he will be re-evaluated after the Jazz game.
A first-half collision was the cause of the oblique strain against the Heat, though Embiid toughed it out for the remainder of the game, even hitting a corner three-pointer with 29 seconds left in the game to seal the victory.
So back it goes to a middle secured by Andre Drummond and Adem Bona. With Embiid in the lineup the past two games, Drummond was a DNP against Miami and played just under seven minutes against the Indiana Pacers. Lately when Embiid has been out, Drummond has gotten the start. But with Boston being a perimeter-oriented offense, coach Nick Nurse could start Bona and bring Drummond off the bench.
It's a familiar dilemma for the coach, unfortunately.
Boston (39-20) has won 10 of its past 12 games and currently sits at the two-seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Sixers (33-26) remain in the sixth spot.
