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Managing the health Joel Embiid has become somewhat of a challenge for Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown.
As of now, there's a so-called policy that Embiid doesn't play in of the games of a back-to-back situation. This is used in an effort to prevent Embiid form injury. He already has missed much of NBA due to various ailments.
But so far this season, Embiid has been healthy, and dominating the league because of it. Even so, Brown elected to sit him for a recent matching agains the Cleveland Cavaliers.
As a result, Brown fielded questions about how he decides when Embiid sits and when he plays, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
“It's a great question,” Brown said. “And sometimes we, he, shares in all of this. This is a collaborative thing. Sometimes it's tilted towards he wanted to play, and we wanted him to play in front of our home fans. Other times there are situations that we listen to but ultimately, sort of the holy grail of the decision rests on health. How do we feel we can manage is health the best?”
The effort to manage Embiid's health is understandable from the point of view of the 76ers. But the fans do miss out when Embiid rests even though he's healthy, such as when Cleveland fans weren't able to see Embiid when he came into town.
It's a tough situation, because the team has to weigh what's more important — their player's health or the desire of the fans, who pay good money to see the best basketball players in the world.
It's always a balancing act, but healthier players means more opportunity for fans to see them for a longer period of time.