The significant injuries to key players keep on coming in these NBA Playoffs. Philadelphia 76ers superstar and MVP finalist Joel Embiid was the latest to suffer a massive injury setback as his orbital bone fracture will have him out indefinitely ahead of their second-round series against the Miami Heat.
The Heat have a couple of significant injury concerns to deal with themselves, while the other Eastern Conference semi-final between the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks also features injury issues surrounding two key players.
Read on below as SBOTOP rounds up the latest news and updates around the NBA.
Joel Embiid out indefinitely with orbital fracture
The Philadelphia 76ers made massive NBA 2022 news as they announced that superstar centre Joel Embiid will be out indefinitely after he suffered a right orbital fracture and a mild concussion in their Game 6 win over the Toronto Raptors.
Embiid suffered the injury with four minutes left in the game as Pascal Siakam drove to the basket and hit Embiid in the face with an elbow.
It is still uncertain whether Embiid will need surgery and there is still no timetable for his return. Embiid had previously suffered a left facial fracture in 2018 when he collided with teammate Markelle Fultz. He underwent surgery and missed three weeks.
Embiid was already playing through a torn ligament in his right (shooting) thumb which he suffered in Game 3 of the Raptors series. He had averaged 27.7 points and 13 rebounds in the three games before the thumb injury and 24.7 points and 9.7 rebounds in the three games after.
The Sixers begin their Eastern Conference semi-final series against the Miami Heat on Monday night US time, and their NBA 2022 odds of getting past the No. 1 seed will be significantly impacted by Embiid’s absence. The pressure will now be on James Harden to help carry the Sixers offensively without Embiid.
Jimmy Butler says knee feels fine
Speaking of the Heat, All-Star forward Jimmy Butler thinks he will be ready to play in Game 1 against the 76ers amid his bout of recent right knee soreness.
“It’s all right,” Butler said after Saturday’s practice. “We got another day in between. Get out there, rip and ride. And I know it will be ready to hold up come Monday, but the time off has been great for myself and so many other guys that are nicked up. Everybody’s ready to compete.”
Butler missed the Heat’s series-clinching Game 5 win over the Atlanta Hawks due to his sore knee. He averaged 30.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.8 steals in the four games he played, though, including a 45-point explosion in Game 2, which was a new playoff career-high.
Aside from Butler, the Heat are also sweating on the fitness of veteran point guard Kyle Lowry, who missed the last two games of the series due to a hamstring injury.
Jaylen Brown ‘ready to roll’ for Game 1 vs Bucks
Jaylen Brown has also been dealing with a hamstring issue, but the Boston Celtics star sounds confident he will be able to play in Game 1 of their semi-final series with the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I did some tests this week,” Brown said Saturday afternoon, “got some treatment, should be ready to roll for tomorrow.”
Brown felt his hamstring tighten up toward the end of Game 4 against the Brooklyn Nets. He was the Celtics’ second-leading scorer in that series with 22.5 points and 5.3 rebounds.
And Brown will once again be crucial to the Celtics’ chances against Milwaukee, especially with the Bucks’ second-leading scorer, Khris Middleton, expected to miss the entire series with a Grade 2 MCL sprain.
Lakers to interview Bucks assistant for head coach job
As the Bucks are getting ready for their big second-round series, the Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly asked permission to interview Milwaukee assistant coach Darwin Ham, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Ham was a Lakers assistant coach from 2011-13 before moving on to Atlanta, where he teamed up with current Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer and was part of their championship-winning team last year.
Aside from Ham, the Lakers have also been linked with Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson, Utah Jazz coach Quin Snider, and Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers to take over for the fired Frank Vogel.
But according to top ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers are planning to do a ‘lengthy and expansive’ search to find their next head coach.
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