The Celtics host the 76ers on Tuesday night for Game 2, two days after a 32-point Game 1 demolition. And, they’ll mostly be at full strength: only Ron Harper Jr. is on the injury report. He’s listed as probable with a right ankle sprain that he suffered earlier this month.
Jayson Tatum, who made his return from an Achilles injury on March 6th, continues to be fully uninhibited.
He tallied 25 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals in 32 minutes on Sunday, and even said after the game that he feels stronger than he’s felt in years past.
For the 76ers, everyone is available except for Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid has been ruled out of Game 2 after undergoing a successful emergency appendectomy surgery on April 9th. However, on Monday, the 76ers announced he had begun his strength and conditioning program.
Whether Embiid returns in the first round of the playoffs vs Boston remains to be seen.
NBA injury analyst Joel Stotts reported that the average time lost for in-season surgery is 23 days, while the median time lost is 18 days (meaning that half of the NBA players who have undergone appendectomy surgery have missed more than 18 days, while the other half have missed less than 18 days).
Say Embiid falls right in line with that 18-day mark; he’d return on April 27th. Game 3 is scheduled for Friday, April 24th, and Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday, April 26th.
The 76ers undoubtedly hope Embiid can make his return sooner rather than later, as Embiid has been crucial to Philadelphia this season. He’s averaged 26.9 points and 7.7 rebounds, while shooting 48.9% from the field. The 76ers were a much better team with him available — they were 24-14 with him (63.2% win rate) and 21-23 without him (a 47.7% win rate).
But for now, Philadelphia will continue to rely on Adem Bona and Andre Drummond to hold down the fort in the post.
