The Celtics added to their lead atop the Eastern Conference on Sunday night with a blowout win over the Grizzlies. However, a far bigger development was looming down the East Coast on Sunday night as multiple reports out of Philadelphia indicated that Joel Embiid would be undergoing potential season-ending surgery on his knee to repair a torn meniscus. The fallout of the decision by Embiid after suffering the knee injury on Tuesday night in Golden State looms quite large across the Eastern Conference for contenders just days away from the trade deadline. A closer look at the fallout it poses in both the short and long term for Boston.
An easier road to the top of the Eastern Conference for Boston: For the first two months of the season, the Celtics looked like a team that could be a top competitor for the No. 1 seed in the East. Injuries have changed that equation for Philadelphia in a hurry as they stumbled all the way down to the No. 6 seed in the East.
The Celtics currently hold a seven-game over Philadelphia and no team is within four games of Boston with just 32 regular season games remaining. The Celtics already had one of the easier schedules remaining in the NBA this season and the odds of any team making a run at Boston just took a major hit with another easy game on Boston’s schedule.
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One less serious threat at the trade deadline in the East? No matter what Embiid’s recovery timetable is from his knee surgery, it’s a safe guess that 76ers GM Daryl Morey will have far less incentive to make a big splash in the coming weeks. Even if Embiid would be able to return in time for the postseason, it would be a reach to expect him to be close to 100 percent.
With the Sixers already stumbling in the standings and Morey staring at the possibility of serious cap space in the offseason, there is far less incentive now for Philadelphia to take a swing on a game-changing player for the present. Whether Morey tries to find a little help to keep the team afloat in the East playoff picture remains to be seen but don’t look on Morey to spend many assets on the present that suddenly looks less promising without Embiid.
The Celtics have one more reason to push their chips to the middle in the present: Brad Stevens has already tried to make a big splash this year by bringing aboard Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. While Boston’s addition options have some constraints due to roster construction, adding more talent to simply fortify and ensure the team’s rotation looks more appealing than ever.
With the 76ers suddenly looking like less of a threat, the Bucks look like the only team right now that can compete talentwise with Boston. The Knicks and Cavs have been rolling of late but both squads have holes along with some injury concerns for the Knicks. Boston taking advantage of an even greater opening emerging in the East by giving Joe Mazzulla more playable bench options via trade in the coming week should only push Boston’s title stock higher with the emergence of Embiid’s situation.
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