Joel Embiid Has Emergency Appendectomy — Sixers Playoff Hopes in Freefall

Joel Embiid woke up in agony around 3:30 AM in Houston on Thursday morning. Hours later, he was on an operating table getting his appendix removed. The surgery was successful — but the timing could not have been worse.

The 76ers fell to the Rockets 113-102 without their franchise center, dropping to 43-37 on the season. They're now two full games behind the sixth-place Raptors with just two games remaining. Even if Philly sneaks into the play-in, Embiid won't be there — recovery from an appendectomy typically takes 3-6 weeks, and previous NBA players who've had the procedure missed an average of 23 days.

This is the man who has now officially missed more games than he's played as a Sixer. Bell's palsy, orbital fracture, torn meniscus, plantar fasciitis, and now appendicitis. At some point, the basketball gods are just being cruel.