Joel Embiid, 76ers Are 'Very Unified' in Handling of Injuries, Says Brett Brown

Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid appeared to be quite unhappy he didn't play in his team's 113-103 postseason loss to the Miami Heat on Monday, but head coach Brett Brown said there is no discord in how the injury has been handled.

"It's still moving forward," Brown said Tuesday, per Ian Begley of ESPN.com. "What I can say is there is a very unified effort with his representation and the people around him. With the people that did the operation, the doctors, with our medical staff, with the team, with me, the coaching staff. We're all doing this. There's a unified sort of spirit and line of communication."

Begley noted Embiid has been out since March 28 with a broken orbital bone and concussion even though he has since passed the league's concussion protocol.

Brown's comments come after Embiid said he was not pleased with being "babied" in an NSFW Instagram post Monday, which FanRag Sports' Zach Harper passed along:

Begley cited colleague Ramona Shelburne's sources who said Embiid still has a handful of medical hurdles remaining before he can return to action, although he pointed out there is optimism among the team the big man will be back during either Game 3 or 4 with the series in Miami.

The 76ers haven't missed much of a beat without him, though, as Monday's loss snapped a nine-game winning streak without the Kansas product on the court.

They have relied on Ben Simmons—who was one rebound short of a triple-double in Game 1 and one rebound and two assists short in Game 2—and Dario Saric, who helped carry the offense in the fourth quarter of Monday's loss as Philadelphia trimmed a 16-point deficit to two.

Still, Embiid's absence has been felt in the first two contests of this series on the defensive end. Philadelphia allowed more than 100 points in each game and didn't have the usual rim protector there to cut off Miami's penetration.

According to NBA.com, the 76ers' defensive rating was 99.7 this season with Embiid on the floor but ballooned to 104.0 when he was off it. If they are going to beat the Heat and eventually emerge out of the Eastern Conference, they will likely need Embiid back on the floor anchoring the defensive effort.