CLEVELAND, Ohio — Two games into his return from an ankle injury, Joel Embiid was already carrying too much weight.
Embiid, who tallied 19 points and six rebounds during Wednesday’s 113-85 loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers, must be counting the seconds until co-stars James Harden and Tyrese Maxey return. Harden, who strained his foot on Nov. 2 against the Wizards, will miss at least a month. Maxey, who hurt his foot against the Bucks on Nov. 19, will miss 3-4 weeks himself.
Until then, Embiid and Tobias Harris – who himself left Wednesday’s game due to illness -- are left to lug around role players thrust into outsized roles: Georges Niang, De’Anthony Melton, Shake Milton -- Can Maxey start practicing yet?
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The Sixers’ center is not alone in his trudge against medical tape. Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has led the Bucks to a 15-5 record without guard Khris Middleton (wrist). The Celtics have posted the NBA’s best record (18-4) without starting center Robert Williams (knee). And the Miami Heat, which advanced to the conference finals last season, have started 10-12 due in part to the fact that star forward Jimmy Butler (knee) has missed nine games already.
Perhaps those missing pieces should bring pause to the early-season optimism in Cleveland. That’s not to say the Cavs, which sit third in the East after 22 games (14-8), don’t deserve to be considered conference contenders. But the swath of key injuries among their contemporaries does blur the East’s perceived hierarchy.
How do you evaluate the Bucks without Middleton, their resident closer and best pick-and-roll creator? Milwaukee is 5-0 in playoff series that feature a healthy Middleton-Holiday-Antetokounmpo trio, and many experts think they would’ve maintained that perfect postseason record had Middleton not gotten hurt last postseason. The Athletic reported Wednesday that Middleton could return this week.
The same asterisk applies to the Celtics, who own the NBA’s best record without their defensive anchor. Boston ranks 14th in defensive rating without Williams. They ranked first when he played last season, and he’ll undoubtedly provide another boost when he returns later this year
So will Butler, whose Miami teammates are dragging the league’s 23rd-ranked offense without him. So will Harden and Maxey, whose scoring punch the Sixers sorely missed in their loss to Cleveland. And the Cavs will get healthier too, by the way.
Darius Garland missed five games with an eye injury (Cleveland went 5-0 during that stretch, for what it’s worth). Jarrett Allen, Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio and Dylan Windler all missed Wednesday’s game. Continuity carries heightened importance for a team still incorporating recently acquired superstar Donovan Mitchell into its culture.
By year’s end, however, Mitchell’s fit should feel refined. Cleveland’s key cogs should return. But the same goes for conference rivals like Milwaukee, Boston and Philadelphia.
The standings say the Cavs belong in that company already. The injury reports raise questions. And just like the teams waiting for stars to return, Cleveland’s chance to prove itself will have to wait.
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