For the Philadelphia 76ers, the playoffs have started early, as they’re in the middle of a five-team morass to avoid the Play-In Tournament. Unfortunately for them, their task got much tougher late Thursday afternoon when Joel Embiid ($9,800), who had just returned from nearly a month on the sidelines with an oblique injury. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Embiid underwent an appendectomy on Thursday afternoon in Houston, some two hours after being ruled out against the Rockets with what was then deemed an illness.
The 76ers haven’t yet released a timeline on Embiid’s return to play, but players typically miss up to a month after appendectomies, which would rule him out at least through the first round of the playoffs. Philadelphia is currently in eighth in the Eastern Conference, sitting one game behind the Toronto Raptors, who currently occupy the sixth seed. The Raptors will face the Miami Heat tonight. The 76ers hold tiebreakers over the Orlando Magic, the Charlotte Hornets, and Toronto, but not over the Atlanta Hawks, who currently sit in fifth.
Andre Drummond ($4,300) will likely start in Embiid’s place tonight, as he’s started 25 games this season and averaged 6.3 points and 8.2 rebounds (21.1 FPTS) per game. Additionally, Tyrese Maxey ($9,500), Paul George ($8,300), and VJ Edgecombe ($7,300) should each see somewhat of an increase in usage without Philadelphia’s second-leading scorer. Edgecombe in particular could be a strong value option, presuming that Maxey will be guarded by Houston’s strongest perimeter defender, All-Defensive First Team honoree Amen Thompson ($7,800).
Either way, both Drummond and Edgecombe could have a tough time putting up huge fantasy points against the Rockets. While they’ve had a disappointing season in general, they’ve allowed the ninth-fewest FPTS to opposing centers and the fourth-fewest to opposing shooting guards. Drummond’s best asset is his rebounding, but Houston leads the league in rebounding percentage, so it should provide as much of a challenge as any squad. Edgecombe could be effective if he’s guarded by Reed Sheppard ($6,100), whose shooting has translated more than his defense in his first two NBA seasons, but he didn’t play very well in the teams’ first matchup, finishing with just nine points.
Without Embiid, the 76ers are 6.5-point underdogs at DraftKings Sportsbook (+195 on the Moneyline), with the point total set to 226.5. The Rockets are -238 on the Moneyline.
Philadelphia is also +10000 to win the NBA title and +2500 to win the Eastern Conference.
