The Miami Heat head into Game 1 of their second-round NBA Playoff Series against the Philadelphia 76ers with most things going in their favor. Though you hate to have injury so heavily impact the outcomes of your sports, they are also a big part of sports.
With Joel Embiid out for, at least, the first two games, the Miami Heat go into those contests with an extreme upper hand.
Picked by many to win the series before the Embiid news even broke though, the Miami Heat would have likely been the better of the two teams even if he were available for Games 1 and 2.
A ton of that has to do with the 76ers’ second-best player though. A mere shell of himself since arriving in Philadelphia, he’s scoring the ball at the lowest clip that he has since he was traded to Houston from Oklahoma City after his third season in the league.