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The Philadelphia 76ers finally have some breathing room for the third seed in the Eastern Conference. As a result, with the playoffs fast approaching, the team is taking no chances with the health of Joel Embiid.
Sixers coach Brett Brown told reporters on Saturday that the superstar big man will miss his team's next three games due to load management.
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It makes sense for Philadelphia to take an extra cautious approach to the nagging knee pain that at one point put Embiid's career in jeopardy. He's maintained a surprisingly clean bill of health over the last two seasons despite sitting out the first two years of his career, but missed eight games between late February and early March wile resting his surgically-repaired left knee. Any notion of the two-time All-Star struggling to regain his normal form have been quickly put to bed, as Embiid has averaged 29.3 points, 15.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game with an elite 62.1 true shooting percentage since returning to the lineup on March 10th.
The Sixers, 48-27, are three and-a-half games ahead of the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers for third in the East, with seven games left to play. They have the luxury of a forgiving remainder of the regular season schedule, too, facing just one playoff-bound team, the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks, before the season comes to a close. Still, Philadelphia is unlikely to catch the second-place Toronto Raptors, who it currently trails by four and-a-half games in the standings.
The Sixers travel to Minneapolis to face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, marking Jimmy Butler's initial return to Target Center after being traded to Philadelphia in November.
