Joel Embiid Injury Could Screw 76ers Beyond Repair

The Philadelphia 76ers are not having an ideal season as they are currently sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 36-23. Their star point forward Ben Simmons has been out of action due to a back injury with no timetable for return.

To make matters worse for Philadelphia, Joel Embiid left Wednesday's matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a left shoulder sprain. He'll undergo an MRI on Thursday.

The 76ers went on to lose to Cleveland by a score of 108-94 proving that they need their duo to compete even against teams in the NBA cellar.

Even if they entered the playoffs as a five seed, the 76ers could still compete with the top-tier Eastern Conference teams due to the presence of their two stars. However, when you take them out of the equation, all hopes of a playoff run go out with it.

Tobias Harris and Al Horford are two players that have been under-performing all season and cannot be relied on to be able to beat the Bucks, Raptors, Celtics or even Heat come playoff time. For Philly to really be a contender in the East, they need their fearsome foursome. That's not even a spicy take at this juncture -- it's based on a sample size that's readily available to us.

Philadelphia is essentially guaranteed a playoff spot, but the NBA title hopes they entered the year with hang in the balance with Embiid's MRI and Simmons' recovery timetable. Right now, it's not looking great.