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Nick Nurse needs to figure out rotation tweaks designed to stagger Joel Embiid and feature Tyrese Maxey & VJ Edgecombe.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ official injury report for Game 1 of their first-round matchup with the Boston Celtics features an expected – and impactful – absence.

Unsurprisingly, Sixers star center Joel Embiid has been ruled out of the first game of the series as he continues to recover from an emergency appendectomy that he underwent last week. At this point, no timeline for a potential return to game action for Embiid has been provided by the team.

Joel Embiid Officially Ruled Out for Game 1 Against Boston Celtics

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse knew that Embiid wouldn’t be available for Game 1,but he didn’t have much information on his status beyond that.

“I’m preparing for Sunday’s game, and I know he’s not playing in that one,” Nurse said of Embiid on Friday. “So, that’s all. We’re just like zeroed in on trying to see can we go in there and get ready to battle and fight and execute as best we can?

“And then we’ll start figuring—anything that changes, you know, the series becomes a series. Anything that changes starts probably right in the middle of that game, and then we take it from there.”

The second game of the series is set for Tuesday night, and it seems extremely unlikely that Embiid will be able to play in that one either. Game 3 is Friday night back in Philadelphia, and even that feels like pushing it. That would be about 15 days after the appendectomy, which isn’t an especially long recovery time after having an organ removed.

Joel Embiid’s Status Remains Uncertain for Rest of Series Against Celtics

For fans in Philadelphia, the best approach is probably to assume that Embiid won’t be available at all for the series against Boston, and if he ultimately returns, it will be a pleasant surprise.

When it comes to the guys inside the locker room for the Sixers, they’re not waiving the white flag just because Embiid isn’t available to start the series.

“Obviously, we want big fella out there, wishing him a speedy recovery, but we played this team without him, and we’ve kind of seen what it looks like,” Forward Dominick Barlow said of the Celtics. “Obviously, the intensity is going to be higher and going to be a different feel of the game, but we kind of have a reference point of what it looks like without him. I think we have a good strategy that we go with. I feel like everybody in the building is confident.”

Filling in the hole left by Embiid will be a team effort for Philadelphia on both ends of the floor. More of the scoring burden will fall to the likes of Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, V.J. Edgecombe and Kelly Oubre Jr. while guys like Barlow, Andre Drummond and Adem Bona will have to pick up the slack when it comes to paint protection and rebounding.

If the Sixers can get some solid contributions from down the roster, perhaps they’ll be able to pull an upset and steal the first game of the series on the road without their former MVP.