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When the Philadelphia 76ers take on the Boston Celtics Monday night to kick off their second-round playoff series, they'll be doing so without All-Star big man Joel Embiid. Philadelphia's franchise centerpiece has been officially ruled out for Game 1, after previously being listed as doubtful on Saturday. Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said that he "hopes" Embiid will be back for Game 2, but they haven't discussed that yet. 

Embiid sustained a sprained LCL in his right knee during Game 3 of Philadelphia's first-round sweep of the Brooklyn Nets. However, The Athletic's Shams Charania reports that Embiid's injury is considered to be more serious than that and that Embiid underwent platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections. It's unclear exactly how severe the injury is, but it's obviously not great news if this situation is worse than originally reported. 

Embiid was on the court Monday morning at shootaround in Boston, but Rivers said that he didn't do any running.

Unfortunately for Philadelphia, postseason injuries to Embiid have become a theme in recent years. He dealt with a meniscus tear in 2021 that kept him sidelined for the closeout game in the team's first-round series against the Washington Wizards. Like on Saturday, the Sixers were able to close out the series against Washington without Embiid, who then played through the injury in the next round against Atlanta. 

Last season, Embiid suffered a concussion and orbital bone fracture during the first round against Toronto which caused him to miss the first two games of the following series against Miami. Unsurprisingly, the Sixers dropped both of those games and they went on to lose the series 4-2. Had Embiid been available for those two games, the series might have turned out differently.  

As Rivers mentioned, the hope is that Embiid could play in Game 2. But missing a game or two could swing an entire series, just as it did last season against the Heat. The Sixers have a deeper and more well-rounded team than they've had in recent years, but they're not built to withstand an extended absence from their franchise centerpiece. 

Even if Embiid is able to play at some point, it's fair to question what type of impact the injury will have on his performance. When he's at his best, he's arguably the most dominant player in the NBA. That's the guy the Sixers are going to need in order to advance to the conference finals for the first time since 2001.