Embiid, Rivers Aren't Taking Sixers' Eventual Playoff Trip for Granted

The Philadelphia 76ers had a chance to punch their ticket to the 2022 NBA Playoffs on Sunday. With a road matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers, a win would officially allow the Sixers to guarantee their spot in the postseason tournament.

Going into the matchup, Sixers center Joel Embiid was questionable to play as he was dealing with ankle soreness. Considering the matchup was the second game of a back-to-back, Embiid's playing status was truly unclear until roughly 30 minutes before the Sixers and the Cavs tipped off.

After going through pregame warmups, the big man was deemed healthy enough to play. Considering the circumstances, Embiid was unlikely to miss Sunday's matchup as his team needed his MVP caliber play to complete a season's sweep over Cleveland.

In the first half of action, Embiid collected 17 points in 18 minutes. In a rather rough shooting half for the Sixers, Embiid was among those who struggled from the floor. However, he was a perfect 8-8 from the free-throw line.

Going into halftime on Sunday, the Sixers trailed 55-49. While it seemed they simply didn't have the juice to compete with the young and motivated Cavaliers on Sunday, Joel Embiid willed his team to a victory in the second half.

After spending just under 20 minutes on the court in the final two quarters, Embiid dominated on both sides of the floor and scored 27 points while collecting nine rebounds, and three assists along with blocking three shots.

After outscoring the Cavaliers by ten points in the second half, the Sixers picked themselves up a 112-108 win in Cleveland. With that victory, the Sixers are officially playoff-bound for the fifth-straight season.

Unfinished Business

“I am happy," said Doc Rivers following Sunday's game. "But that’s the assumption. You got to do these steps to get to where you want to go. The first step is getting in, and we’re in. The second step is whoever we play and being ready for that.”

In Doc Rivers' first season with the Sixers, Philadelphia clinched the first seed. While they are unlikely to snag the top seed in the Eastern Conference for the second season in a row, Rivers is still happy to accomplish a key goal on the road to the main goal of winning a championship. And his star center is in the same boat.

“It’s cool,” said Joel Embiid. “I’m sure a lot of people probably take it for granted, but it’s also what we say what we want to accomplish. So compared to that goal, which is to win a championship, it might sound like this is really nothing compared to the goal because, if you go out before the season and you say that, even with everything that we had going on, I still believe in myself and I believe in my teammates that we could still win. When you go out before the season and you basically say that the goal is to win a championship, that’s what people look at, but it’s great. Like I always say, it’s a blessing to be part of the playoffs once again.”

Embiid was a part of the Sixers' previous four postseason trips. Therefore, going to the playoffs is nothing new. While the Sixers certainly have bigger dreams than just simply making it to the playoffs, the five-time All-Star big man doesn't want to just shrug off the idea that he helped lead his team to the postseason once again.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

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