The 76ers have experienced yet another up-and-down season with Joel Embiid having missed the past two months because of knee surgery and the roster experiencing changes due to several trades. Philadelphia has dropped into position for the Play-In Tournament and will have to make a late-season push to pass Indiana for the sixth seed. The good news is Embiid is expected back before the end of the regular season.

The 76ers are in precarious times because they don’t have a championship-caliber roster but they have to make a push every season with Embiid. Will the 76ers serve as a potential first-round upset pick with a healthy Embiid? Will players such as Tobias Harris and Buddy Hield improve their contributions enough to turn the 76ers into a threat?

However, the oddsmakers overseeing Pennsylvania online sports betting and New Jersey online sports betting suggest it’s not time to panic yet. FanDuel lists the Sixers at -340 to make the playoffs and +260 to miss the playoffs. DraftKings is even more confident, as it has the Sixers at -390 to make the playoffs and +280 to miss out.

It’s important to note that playoffs means the field of eight that’s formed after the play-in round.

The Sixers come into Friday’s home clash with the New Orleans Pelicans in the first play-in round spot, the No. 7 seed. The Miami Heat carry the same record, but they’re ahead on a tiebreaker for the No. 6 seed.

The Indiana Pacers are one game back of the Sixers, the Chicago Bulls are 4.5 games back, and the Atlanta Hawks are seven games adrift of the No. 7 seed.

After Friday, the Sixers play 12 of their 19 remaining games on the road. That run starts with back-to-back games against the New York Knicks and a Thursday visit to the Milwaukee Bucks. A west coast trip to Phoenix, Sacramento, and to face both Los Angeles teams is looming as well.

The schedule and the inconsistencies without Joel Embiid make missing the playoffs a realistic fate in the minds of some Sixers fans.

The best-case scenario is that Embiid returns at the end of March and improves the quality of the team even on a minutes restriction. That would at least stabilize things and allow the Sixers to stay in front of the Pacers. The No. 7 seed would give the Sixers two shots at home, if necessary, to qualify for the postseason.

The worst-case scenario played out in front of our eyes this week. Tyrese Maxey got hurt, Tobias Harris continued to underwhelm, and the rest of the roster couldn’t hold a lead against a Grizzlies team that gave up on the season two months ago.

Dropping below the No. 8 seed seemed unfathomable when Embiid first went down, but the Bulls play seven of their next 10 games at home and could make things tight down the stretch, even if Embiid returns.

The Hawks probably won’t catch the Sixers with Trae Young off the floor, but at this point you can’t rule anything out based on the last week of Sixers’ performances.

The good news is the Sixers most likely won’t drop out of the top 10. The Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors, Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards are all actively trying to miss the postseason.

A bet on the Sixers to miss the playoffs comes down to your speculation on Embiid’s health. If Embiid is on the floor, the Sixers are likely getting past the Bulls and Hawks in a one-off game, and probably the Pacers as well.

But if you think Embiid won’t come back at all, or he will return too late in regular season, there’s absolutely a path in which the Sixers’ season could crater even more than already has.