'There's hope': 76ers waiting to see if Embiid can come back

MIAMI (AP) — The best that Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers could offer Saturday about Joel Embiid’s possible availability for the Eastern Conference semifinal series against Miami was a two-word answer.

“There’s hope,” Rivers said.

For now, Philadelphia will cling to that.

The 76ers and Heat both hit the practice floor Saturday to begin the process of adjusting for a playoff series that won’t have Embiid at the start -- at minimum. Embiid, the NBA’s scoring champion and an MVP finalist this season, has a right orbital fracture and a mild concussion, injuries that were suffered Thursday in a first-round series-clincher at Toronto and were announced Friday night.

Game 1 is Monday in Miami. And the 76ers will be without their center who averaged 30 points per game this season.

“I don’t know how you make up for it, but you figure out how to,” Rivers said. “Yeah, I mean, it’s just a tough injury. The good news, I guess, is he’s had it before. The bad news is there’s just no timeline for when he’s coming back.”

The Heat went from 4.5-point favorites in Game 1 to 8.5-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, after the 76ers announced Embiid’s latest injuries. But there were no outward signs of celebration in Miami on Saturday because of Embiid’s absence.

Quite the contrary, actually.

“I feel bad for my guy,” said Miami’s Jimmy Butler, who played with Embiid in Philadelphia. “Obviously, one of my former teammates. Arguably, the MVP of this league. And I think I speak for everybody that’s a part of this team — we want Jo to play. We want to go up against them at full strength and prove that we can hang with anybody and we can beat anybody. It’s a mishap. I hope he recovers well, and gets back very, very soon.”

Losing Embiid