The Philadelphia 76ers will be without All-Star big man Joel Embiid for the remainder of their road trip.
Head coach Brett Brown told the media on Monday that Embiid will continue to be held out for rest, and is expected to be back in the lineup on Thursday night when the Sixers host the East-leading Milwaukee Bucks.
Joel Embiid who will not play tonight (load management) will not meet the team on this trip.
Brett Brown says they will see Joel back in Philadelphia for the Milwaukee game.
Brett says they are just being proactive and smart about his load management.
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) March 30, 2019
Embiid was also held out of the team's win on Saturday night over the Timberwolves.
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Including the next two games on their schedule, Embiid will have missed 12 out of 20 games since the All-Star break -- a majority of which were due to a minor knee injury. The good news for the Sixers, back in action on Monday against the Mavs (8:30 p.m. ET -- watch on fuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension), is that issue seems to have been resolved, and this current stretch of games he's about to miss is simply a chance for him to rest ahead of what the team hopes will be a long playoff run.
And given the Sixers' current place in the standings, missing Embiid won't matter much. They're 4.5 games back of the Raptors for the No. 2 seed, and have a 4.5-game lead on the Celtics and Pacers, who are tied for fourth. With just six games to play, it would take a bizarre set of circumstances for the Sixers not to end up with the No. 3 seed in the East.
Knowing they're pretty much locked into their seed makes the decision to rest Embiid even easier.
