CAMDEN, N.J. -- The Philadelphia 76ers will enter Round 1 of the playoffs on Sunday against the Boston Celtics while missing Joel Embiid due to an appendectomy he had on April 9. The Sixers went 21-23 in the regular season without Embiid and then defeated the Orlando Magic in the play-in tournament with the big fella sidelined.As the Sixers now head into the playoffs, they will be asking more out of a guy like Dominick Barlow, for example. A player signed to a two-way deal before earning a standard contract, he averaged 7.7 points and 4.8 rebounds while playing in 71 games in the regular season, including 59 starts.As Barlow moves into his first playoff experience, he knows he has to fill in and step up with Embiid sidelined.

He has data to go off of from the regular season when Embiid was unable to play."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," Barlow said at practice on Friday. "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."Whether Barlow is playing next to Andre Drummond and Adem Bona in the frontcourt, the Sixers will need him to play well and with force in this series. Especially, on the glass so Philadelphia has a shot in that department."I think just being more decisive," he explained. "I felt like last game, I wasn't as, as I have been throughout the year.

I wasn't as decisive in my decision-making. It’s something I watched and I looked back and I was like looking at areas where I could have attacked it, or could have played uphill, whatever the case may be."Barlow's game is predicated on knowing when and where to attack, helping on the glass, and finding ways to get after it in a way that helps the Sixers beyond the box score. He has to be able to be in the right spots to help Philadelphia succeed.

With Embiid out, he has to do a bit more to help things move forward."I think just understanding and reading the close out just kind of like making the read from there, but just take a sec, slow down because, I mean, when, obviously, when Jo’s not there, teams are a little bit more packed tightly because they don't have to send doubles at him," Barlow finished. "So, yeah, just it looks different, but I’ll be ready for it."This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Dominick Barlow talks filling in for Joel Embiid as 76ers move forward