Philadelphia 76ers player Joel Embiid (sprained right knee) was downgraded to questionable in Tuesday night’s Game 5 second round game against the Boston Celtics in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
Embiid missed two games earlier this season with a sprained knee. In his last three games, the 2022-23 NBA Most Valuable Player has averaged 26.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 37.3 minutes per game.
According to a few NBA betting sites, the 76ers have the fourth shortest odds of winning the championship. Check out sportsbooks that give Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, and Phoenix Suns better odds.
NBA INJURY ALERT: 76ers C Joel Embiid (knee) is questionable in Tuesday’s game against the Celtics. pic.twitter.com/YFKOpMbDya
– DK Nation (dklive) May 8, 2023
In the 76ers’ 116-115 overtime win over Boston in Game 4 last Sunday, Joel Embiid finished his game with 34 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and one steal in 47 minutes of action. In addition, the six-time All-Star shot 11-of-26 (42.3%) from the floor and 12-of-15 (80%) at the foul line.
“Tonight, he played a lot of minutes for me kind of at the end,” Embiid said. “We made plays when we needed to. PJ [Tucker] With the big and 1. Obviously James [Harden] shot. I thought we were stuck with it. But that’s been us all season. We stick together and fight through everything.”
Last Tuesday, Embiid became the first player to win a game MVP averaging 30 points and 10 rebounds per game on shooting 50% from the field since Moses Malone in 1981-82.
76ers center Joel Embiid (sprain right knee) is downgraded to questionable in Game 5 Tuesday night’s game against the Celtics at TD Garden
James Harden led the Sixers in scoring with 42 points in 47 minutes. Embiid and Harden are the first Sixers teammates with 30 points each in a playoff game since Embiid and Seth Curry set the previous record in June 2021 against the Atlanta Hawks.
Going into Game 5 on Tuesday night, the 76ers are 2-7 ATS in their last nine games versus Boston. However, the Sixers are also 5-1 in their past six road games. More importantly, Philadelphia is 5-15 in their previous 20 contest against the Celtics at the TD Garden.
Chances of winning the 2023 NBA Championship:
36.1% – Boston Celtics
17.3% – Philadelphia 76ers
14.4% – Denver Nuggets
9.2% – New York Knicks
8.9% – Phoenix Suns
5.3% – Los Angeles Lakers
5.1% – Golden State Warriors
3.8% – Miami Heat# The NBA | # I grow– Basketball Reference (bball_ref) May 8, 2023
Meanwhile, the C’s are 10-2 in their last 12 home games. Point totals have gone in seven of Boston’s last eight contests, too. The Celtics are 4-2 ATS in their previous six games played on Tuesday. In Game 4, Jason Tatum missed his first eight shots before scoring a bucket just before halftime.
Boston hasn’t fallen back-to-back games since losing 131-129 in double overtime against the New York Knicks on March 5. According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the Celtics have a 62.1% probability of winning Game 5 at home. The sportsbooks show the 76ers are 7.5-point underdogs at TD Garden.