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The Philadelphia 76ers will enter a muddy final stretch of the season without their All-Star center Joel Embiid, missing not only 23 points and 11 rebounds of production on a nightly basis, but also his intimidating defense.
In fact, head coach Brett Brown appeared most worried about the team's defense after his big man suffered an orbital fracture, which will sideline him for two to four weeks.
“Defense is my biggest area of concern,” said Brown, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “His presence defensively cannot be dismissed and so everything’s got to be perfect, or as perfect as we can be defensively.”
Brown spoke to his franchise center over FaceTime, gauging the state of his mindset after knowing he'll miss time during one of the most pivotal parts of the season.
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“He's disappointed, he's gone through a lot,” said Brown. “We need to help him. We need to buy some time, continue to play great basketball; we've had an outstanding month of March, and just buy time to welcome him back.”
#Sixers coach Brett Brown spoke to Joel Embiid via FaceTime a few times. He talks about the team needing to be there for the big man. pic.twitter.com/zvfrOH22Sc
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) March 30, 2018
The Sixers are in a tight race for the third spot, but the schedule plays greatly in their favor, facing only two playoff teams during their last eight games of the season, among them, the Cleveland Cavaliers, who could easily lose their third place in the East with a loss to the Sixers.
Philadelphia will play the Atlanta Hawks tonight, face the Charlotte Hornets on the road on Sunday, and then come back home to take on the Brooklyn Nets — all non-playoff teams — with a chance to extend the streak to double-digits by the start of April.
