Can the Sixers make the necessary adjustments to beat Boston without Joel Embiid?

There’s plenty to like about Joel Embiid’s game.

He’s dominant in the post. He can face the basket and effectively score in the perimeter. He has a photographic memory and an extremely high basketball IQ.

But he just can’t stay healthy when it matters the most.

The 76ers’ All-Star center is in the midst of his sixth straight postseason. And it is the fifth time that he’s missed at least one playoff game due to an injury.

» READ MORE: Sixers’ Joel Embiid (knee) is doubtful to play in Game 1 against the Celtics

This time, Embiid is dealing with a sprained right knee. The presumptive league MVP is expected to be unavailable against the Boston Celtics at the start of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday. Game 1 of the best-of-seven series is set for 7:30 p.m. at TD Garden.

“He didn’t do anything today,” Doc Rivers said after Saturday’s practice. “I’ll say this, if I was a betting man, I would probably say doubtful for at least Game 1, but we’ll see.”

Rivers has similiar things to say about Embiid’s postseason availability during his previous two seasons as the Sixers coach. His predecessor Brett Brown also noted similar statements in regards to Embiid during his coaching tenure.

And as it was in those earlier instances, the Sixers are now at a huge disadvantage because of his injury. An MRI on April 21 revealed that Embiid sprained his lateral collateral ligament the night before in Game 3 of the Sixers’ first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets. Embiid became entangled with the Nets’ Cam Johnson and fell beyond the baseline. While he’s being evaluated daily, his sprain is reportedly worse than a Grade 1.

The Sixers are 12-5 in games Embiid has missed this season, including Game 4′s close-out victory over the Nets. The problem is they had to rely heavily on him against the Celtics this season. So a healthy Embiid playing at a high level would be necessary if the Sixers had a chance to win the playoff series.

Publicly, they are confident but also realize that those 17 games without Embiid probably won’t mean a hill of beans against Boston.

“We can talk about taking stuff from games. It doesn’t work like that,” said P.J. Tucker. “You just got to play.”

Right now, players are focused on figuring out their roles.

» READ MORE: The Boston Celtics have had the Sixers’ number. Joel Embiid’s supporting cast must produce for that to change.

“I think it will change up from game to game, figuring out how we’re going to play, who’s playing, who’s available, who’s not,” Tucker said. “But we just got to be ready to play. That’s it. Each and every night. Everybody, whoever’s available, ready to go out there and give it your all.”

Time will tell if they can power through. But Embiid is obviously a major part of the game plan. He’s not the frontrunner for MVP without reason. So even though players are prepared to give their all, they’re aware of the obstacles that Embiid’s absence represents.

“This is the series that we’ve all been waiting for all year,” Tucker said. “And for us to not know if he’s gonna to play, yeah, that sucks because we’ve run everything through him.

“So it’s almost like we have to figure out another way to play because the way we [want to] play, we are not going to be able to play.”

Without Embiid, the Sixers have to rely more on ball movement. Tobias Harris will have a larger role in the offense. In Game 4 against the Nets, Paul Reed started in Embiid’s place.

“If Joel’s not playing, I’m confident that I can come in and give us a lot of energy,” Reed said, “and help us win.”

But as solid as Reed was against Brooklyn, you cannot ask or expect him to provide what Embiid does. Very few players, if any, in the league can.

He’s a 7-foot-2, 280-pounder with guard-like skills. Embiid averaged 33.1 points this season to become the first player to win consecutive scoring titles since James Harden won three straight with the Houston Rockets from 2017-18 to 2020-21. The last center before Embiid to win consecutive scoring titles was Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo. He won three straight with the Buffalo Braves from 1973-74 to 1975-76.

On Tuesday, Embiid is expected to be named MVP. He’s expected to join Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Julius ‘Dr. J,’ Moses Malone, and Allen Iverson as the only Sixers to win the award.

But how will this season be remembered? And, most importantly, how will people characterize his career?

Unfortunately, for now, he’s a dominant regular-season player who’s unable to stay healthy in the playoffs — at a time when he’s needed the most.

» READ MORE: NBA playoff predictions: Inquirer experts share their picks for Sixers-Celtics