The Boston Celtics were left shell-shocked by their Game 1 loss at home against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night. Joel Embiid was sidelined due to a right knee injury and the general expectation was that the mighty Celtics were going to be able to cruise past a shorthanded Sixers side in the series opener. Well, James Harden and Co. had other plans.
Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday night, and at this point, Embiid's status for that one remains up in the air after the MVP frontrunner was tagged as doubtful to play. You would think that Philly might want to give their superstar big man more time to recover given how they can “afford” to lose Game 2 in Boston. As it turns out, however, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers is not taking on this type of mindset for Wednesday's contest:
“Doc Rivers said Joel Embiid is working out this afternoon, and the team will see how his knee responds tomorrow. Rivers expects Embiid’s status to remain the same for Game 2, but that last night’s result won’t impact how the Sixers proceed — said it will only be a health decision,” per NBA insider Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
After their Game 1 victory, Harden already declared their intention to go out and win another one in Game 2. They have no intention of taking their foot off the gas as Philly looks to deliver a potential death blow to a dejected Celtics side. At this point, they intend to do everything they can toward this objective with or without Joel Embiid.
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