PHILADELPHIA − It's a rite of spring for the 76ers: The flowers are blooming. The sun is shining. And Joel Embiid is hurting.

In the past, it's been a death knell as the Sixers have not advanced beyond the second round of the NBA playoffs since 2001.

But this year it can be different, even though the odds are stacked against the Sixers more than ever during the Embiid playoff era going back to 2018.

That has everything to do with guard Tyrese Maxey.

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Maxey, the whirling dervish 23-year-old with a deadly jump shot, had 26 points in the Sixers' 107-86 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. It was the Sixers' eighth straight win to close out the regular season. Embiid, however, sat out to continue recovering from the knee injury that kept him out for more than two months, from January 29 until April 2.

A quick aside: The Sixers have seen that winning streak movie before. They had won 16 in a row to end the 2017-18 regular season. All it got them was a second-round exit in five games to the Celtics.

This time, it will be a longer and more treacherous road, beginning on Wednesday at 7 p.m. when the Sixers (47-35) play the Miami Heat (46-36) in the NBA's play-in tournament. It's the first of potentially two games to determine if the Sixers are the No. 7 seed, the No. 8 seed or out of the playoffs entirely.

If the Sixers beat Miami, they're the No. 7 seed facing the No. 2 seed New York Knicks in the best-of-7 first round. Game 1 will be on Saturday in New York. If they lose to Miami, but beat the winner of the Chicago-Atlanta play-in game on Friday, they're the No. 8 seed. They'll face the top-seeded Celtics in Game 1 on Sunday in Boston.

If they lose both play-in games, their season is over.

Maxey has never been a No. 2 to Embiid until this season when the Sixers traded James Harden and added depth to their roster.

Now, there's no question. Maxey and Embiid are arguably the most dangerous 1-2 punch in the NBA, averaging a combined 60.6 points per game. They're also the Sixers' best 1-2 punch, possibly since Moses Malone led the 1982-83 championship run.

The problem is, Embiid (34.7 points per game) has only played in 39 games this season. He and Maxey (25.9 points) have only played four games together since Jan. 29.

Maxey, who also averaged 6.2 assists, and 1.7 turnovers per game, became the first player in NBA history to average 25.0 points and 5.0 assists with fewer than 2.0 turnovers for a full season.

"I’ve played three years with him," Maxey said about Embiid. "We know who he is. We know how he plays. We know how he wants the ball. We kind of know spacing and different things like that, so I think we’ll be ready."

True, but won't Embiid's absences affect their chemistry? Especially when the Sixers don't have the luxury of a best-of-7 series to find a rhythm.

"That connection doesn’t go anywhere," Maxey said. "So when we get on the court, we’re able to talk to each other and figure out how we need to play in certain games. Or when he has it going, how we gotta feed him, how we gotta get him the ball.

"I think we’re doing pretty well with that. I think we’ve been doing well with that all year, or the half of the year that he’s played."

Of course, the Sixers need Embiid at full strength.

The Sixers were 31-8 with Embiid in the lineup, a .795 winning percentage that is better than Boston's NBA-best .780 winning percentage. The Sixers are 16-27 without Embiid.

And Embiid's playoff injury history has been a big factor in the Sixers' relatively short playoff stints in the past six seasons.

Last season, it was a sprained knee. In 2022, it was an orbital fracture and sprained thumb. In 2021, it was a torn meniscus. In 2019, it was knee tendinitis and an illness. And in 2018, it was an orbital fracture.

Embiid has only missed eight playoff games during that time. But his conditioning was a factor.

Embiid appears in better shape in the five games (of seven) he has played in since returning. Still, there's concern. On Friday, Embiid left in the second quarter after his knee started bothering him. He returned for the second half and finished with 32 points in the Sixers' 125-113 win over the Orlando Magic.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse said he held out Embiid on Sunday for precautionary reasons, and that he'll be ready for the play-in tournament.

So will Maxey.

Maxey showed this while Embiid was in the lineup, and when he wasn't. He eclipsed 50 points three times this season. Only Embiid, Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain have done that during a season in Sixers' history.

He can also feed Embiid the ball when Embiid is in.

When asked what Maxey has shown this season, forward Tobias Harris responded: "Nothing that I never expected from him. I think he’s a heck of a player and a better person, and he’s been able to show it night in, night out … He’s been spectacular for our whole team, our whole group."

That's why you should look past the Sixers' overall record of 47-35, their worst record entering the playoffs during Embiid's career. And look past the long odds of the play-in tournament. After all, the Heat made it all the way to the NBA Finals last season after starting in the play-in tournament.

The Sixers added depth in the Harden trade in Nicolas Batum, and did it again when Embiid was out in February by signing veteran guard Kyle Lowry, and trading for sharp-shooter Buddy Hield and guard Cam Payne.

All of it was done to complement Embiid − and Maxey.

"Of course it’s different," Maxey said about finding a rhythm quickly. "Not just for myself, but the entire team, the entire organization. We gotta get back used to playing with the big fella ... It’s difficult, but we’re capable of doing it."

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Why Tyrese Maxey is as crucial as Joel Embiid for Sixers playoff run