Just over six weeks after being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, former Sixers first-round pick Jared McCain will face his former team for the first time Monday night as the defending champions make their yearly visit to Philadelphia.

When McCain steps onto the Xfinity Mobile Arena floor for the first time since the trade deadline, he will have the same number of appearances on the same court as Joel Embiid since being the trade occurred. Embiid, who has only played in Philadelphia once since the beginning of February, will miss his 13th consecutive game on Monday due to an oblique strain he suffered in his lone home appearance of the last several weeks, on Feb. 26.

While Embiid's return-to-play progression continues to buffer and cause immense frustration among Sixers fans as the team's injuries have piled up across the roster, the Sixers have a playoff race to attend to. Only 10 more games will be left on the schedule after the Thunder's visit is through, and the middle of the standings in the Eastern Conference are packed. Every game matters a whole lot. On the docket in the week ahead: McCain and the Thunder on Monday, then another home game Wednesday night as Paul George returns from suspension against the Chicago Bulls, then a pair of days off before a road game against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night that should be a critical contest.

As always, let's begin the week with 5 Sixers thoughts, diving into Embiid's continued absence, the current playoff picture and more:

Joel Embiid remains out

After going more than five weeks without experiencing a single unplanned absence, February and March have been unkind to Embiid, who has only played five games since the Sixers departed for a Western Conference road trip at the beginning of last month. First, a right knee issue reappeared; two games after that subsided Embiid suffered a right oblique strain. While Embiid gutted out the remainder of what was an important win over the Miami Heat that night – more on this shortly – he has not been on the court for a game since.

Before the Sixers hit the road for their latest three-game swing, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said he was hopeful Embiid would play in Denver, Sacramento or Utah. He was unsurprisingly ruled out for the Denver game, but there were indications that things were trending upward for the former NBA MVP, whose doubtful listing on the team's initial injury report for Thursday's game against the Kings was taken as a sign that his return was imminent. But Embiid was later ruled out for that game, then listed as out on the initial injury report for Saturday's game against the Jazz as well as Monday's game against the Thunder.

The Sixers' position is that a setback has not occurred and this is another example of Embiid listening to his body. But time is running out, every game is meaningful given where the Sixers sit in the standings and every time Embiid misses a game, it tacks on more time to his inevitable ramp-up process. In an ideal world, the Sixers could get to the middle of April with Embiid ready to log heavy, intense minutes like he did for the entirety of January. But with each March absence, it becomes harder to envision that happening.

After hosting the Thunder on Monday, the Sixers will host a tanking Bulls team and get George back in the lineup on Wednesday. That seems like a far more predictable return spot for Embiid than a matchup with Oklahoma City and its dominant defense. Perhaps the best alignment at this point is Embiid returning to face Chicago and getting two days off before the Sixers depart for another road trip, beginning with two very important games. 

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An updated look at the Eastern Conference standings

Embiid suiting up would certainly not make the Sixers favorites against the Thunder on Monday, but it would have given them a much stronger chance of staging an upset. That does mean something given how crowded the Eastern Conference playoff picture is right now. With 11 games left in the season, the Sixers are within arm's reach of the No. 5 seed but still have a floor all the way down at No. 10, where their chances of making a playoff run would take a massive hit:

Saturday night was a wonderful one for the Sixers' chances of getting back into the top six and avoiding the Play-In Tournament. Shortly before the Sixers put the finishing touches on a win over the Utah Jazz, the Magic and Heat both lost at the buzzer, with the Los Angeles Lakers' Luke Kennard burying a game-winning triple in Orlando and Miami falling victim to an Amen Thompson basket on the offensive glass as time expired.

All of that put the Sixers in a tie for the sixth and final surefire playoff spot with Atlanta, but the Hawks own the tiebreaker over the Sixers because they won all four matchups between the two teams this season. They have effectively clinched a tiebreaker over Toronto despite splitting the season series; if the Sixers and Raptors finish in a two-way tie the Sixers' superior division record will win out. The Sixers own the tiebreaker over Orlando should they finish in a two-way tie with the Magic but they end the month of March with two tiebreaker-determining games. Their season series with the Hornets will be determined by the outcome of Saturday's game in Charlotte, and their following game will be in Miami next Monday to determine the winner of the season series between the Sixers and Heat.

Games to watch in race for playoff spots

Quite a few critical games remain this season as the Raptors try to hold onto a playoff spot while the Hawks, Sixers, Magic, Heat and Hornets all battle to either avoid a play-in scenario or establish ideal positioning within one. Because the primary tiebreakers involving more than two teams involve winning percentages within the grouping of tied teams, it will be challenging to forecast the outcomes of them for a while longer.

These are the games worth keeping close eyes on:

For those not up to date on the format of the Play-In Tournament, it is not that complex: the No. 7 seed hosts the No. 8 seed; the winner of that game is the No. 7 seed for the playoffs. The No. 9 seed hosts the No. 10 seed in an elimination game; the winner plays the loser of the first game in another elimination game for the right to be the No. 8 seed in the playoffs. Two seasons ago, Nic Batum saved the Sixers in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in game, beating the Heat and setting up what was an epic six-game playoff series between the Sixers and New York Knicks.

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No more Kyle Lowry minutes?

On Wednesday, future Hall of Fame point guard Kyle Lowry will turn 40 years old. And for a player only making the veteran's minimum salary, Lowry's unquestioned leadership in the Sixers' locker room – and his trusted guidance of the team's young players, from Tyrese Maxey to Edwards – makes him worth keeping on the roster.

That is a controversial statement in itself, and the argument can be made that the Sixers' depth is too shaky to justify utilizing a roster spot on a glorified assistant coach. But from his impact on Tyrese Maxey's leadership capabilities to his ability to serve as a bridge between teammates and coaches, Lowry is – and has been – legitimately valuable to the Sixers without playing.

However, Lowry's value to the Sixers goes down every time he plays. Entering Thursday's game in Sacramento, Lowry had made one shot across his last 74 minutes, spanning eight games and more than three months. It is one thing to be an off-ball player and one thing to be a player whose impact is not quite quantified in a box score. But Lowry is a complete non-threat to even attempt to score.

When Thursday's game came and went, so did Lowry's 12th appearance of the season. He has still not attempted a single two-point shot this season; all 15 of his shot attempts have come from beyond the arc. Only three of them have gone in. Lowry has only 11 assists in what is now a sample of over 100 minutes.

After a dominant first quarter in Sacramento the Sixers went to a lineup including Lowry to begin the second quarter. It got completely railroaded, in part because Lowry has not looked the part of a remotely viable rotation option since the 2024 NBA Playoffs. The Sixers saw a 14-point lead evaporate in five minutes. That was it for Lowry, whose inability to serve as a playmaker or play finisher has made it impossible for him to have any sort of offensive utility, in addition to the obvious defensive limitations one would expect for a small guard with his issues from a mobility perspective.

These minutes are simply not passable, whether the Sixers are devastated by injuries or not. MarJon Beauchamp has shown off some level of offensive intrigue and has more games left on his two-way contract than the Sixers do remaining on their schedule. There should never be a time Lowry plays over Beauchamp. And in the second half of Sacramento's game, it was Beauchamp who got the nod in Lowry's rotation spot. On Saturday in Utah, Lowry was the only player to dress and not be used.

Trendon Watford finally finding form?

Not much from the Sixers' win over the Jazz was inspiring – Utah was trying to lose and the Sixers still could not put the game away for about 47 minutes, plus Dominick Barlow went down with an ankle sprain that could cost him more time. But in Barlow's absence, the struggling Trendon Watford finally emerged again, showcasing some of the unique skills that have endeared him to Nurse despite an admitted lack of consistency.

Early on, Watford's minutes were a mixed bag. He scored seven quick points, but committed three turnovers to zero assists. He was a major culprit as the Sixers displayed disastrous ball security in the first half:

But Watford, whose best moments have come when he has been able to find a rhythm operating out of the post, was able to play with immense physicality against undersized Utah lineups. He ended up rolling to a 20-point night, arguably his best game since his November triple-double. It was not an earth-shattering performance, but it was a sign that Watford does have some capability to bring this team an offensive spark:

All things being equal, Justin Edwards and Jabari Walker probably still have better cases to be part of Nurse's postseason rotation than Watford, and both players fit better around the Sixers' key players, all of whom are expected back before the season ends. But over the next handful of games, Watford has a chance to reinforce his upside for a coach who clearly sees the vision. 

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