With Joel Embiid out indefinitely, the Sixers have to drastically shorten their notion of time. They cannot worry about or look forward to a potential Joel Embiid playoff return, despite how hopeful they might be.
There’s no time to reflect on the past or what might have been had the Sixers found a way to keep both Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris in that fateful summer of 2019. Philadelphia just needs to steal one of the first two games down in South Beach next week. Then they can at least check in on Embiid’s status when the second-round series returns to Broad St.