By Jerry Wein
Sixers center Joel Embiid is having the best season of his career, averaging a career-highs in points (29.9), field goal percentage (52.5%), 3-point percentage (42.2%) and steals (1.2). He also grabs 11.5 rebounds and blocks 1.4 shots per game.
And Philly is 26-12 with a half-game lead over Brooklyn (25-13) and 2-game lead over Milwaukee (23-14) in the Eastern Conference.
So, with Embiid out at least two weeks with a knee bone bruise, they’ll rely on Dwight Howard, Tony Bradley and Vincent Poirier to fill Embiid’s minutes in the middle.
Howard averages 6.4 points and 7.5 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per game, and Bradley averages 4.8 points and 4.1 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game. On Friday, Howard and Bradley combined for 12 points and 13 rebounds with 10 rebounds belonging to Howard.
“Hopefully we can hold the fort,” coach Doc Rivers said.
