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Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers’ second-leading scorer and the longtime anchor of its push to make it back to the top of the Eastern Conference, had an appendectomy in Houston yesterday. With the Sixers currently in eighth place and on the bubble for this year’s playoffs, Embiid’s season could be done.
The Athletic reported that Embiid felt sick ahead of the Sixers’ road game against the Houston Rockets on Thursday evening and was taken to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with appendicitis. He had surgery to remove his appendix yesterday evening.
The Sixers have only two regular-season games left: tonight against the Indiana Pacers and Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks. That guarantees that Embiid, who likely needs about two weeks to recover from the surgery, won’t be available to help push his team into the playoffs. At 43-37, the Sixers are playing for seeding in the NBA’s play-in tournament, scheduled for April 14-17.
The first round of the playoffs begins April 18, so whether Embiid retakes the court this season depends on his teammates’ ability to make an unlikely deep run in the postseason.
Embiid, 32, has been a superstar plagued by injury since he was drafted third overall in 2014. He’s played more than 60 regular-season games in only four seasons.
SOURCE: bet.com