Philadelphia 76ers should still prioritize rest for Joel Embiid
The Philadelphia 76ers, within reason, should rest Joel Embiid as much as possible.
As the medical field continues to advance, injuries are becoming less career-threatening. Joel Embiid is a perfect example, as the Philadelphia 76ers big man traversed two years of constant rehab and foot issues to emerge as an elite (and largely healthy) NBA player last season.
For the first time in his young career, Embiid enters the 2018-19 season fresh off a healthy summer. He’s also free of all minute restrictions, giving Brett Brown the freedom to play him as often as necessary. That helps in close games and important back-to-backs.
Through five games, Embiid appears to be in excellent shape. He’s averaging 29.6 points and 12.4 rebounds in 35.6 minutes per game, a number that trounces the 30.3 minutes he averaged last season.
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Brown is comfortable playing Embiid for extended stretches, which is huge given the lack of production elsewhere in the rotation. As the Sixers figure things out, Embiid’s two-way productivity is the foundation keeping the team afloat.
With that said, Embiid is still 7-foot-2 with a severe injury history. He has missed significant time with foot, knee and back issues over the years. At his height, those injuries tend to linger. If the Sixers don’t give Embiid proper rest, the chance for re-injury will always loom large.
Given his importance to the team and improved conditioning, Embiid should play a career high in minutes this season. He’s also someone the Sixers can lean on in back-to-backs, as was the case on Wednesday against Milwaukee.
When given the opportunity to rest Embiid, however, the Sixers need to seize it. His size alone gives him inherent injury risk, not to mention the prior history. DeMarcus Cousins ruptured his Achilles during the heaviest stretch of playing time in his career last season. The Sixers can’t let Embiid fall into the same trap.
Embiid popped up on the Sixers’ injury report Friday afternoon. According to PhillyVoice’s Kyle Neubeck, he’s questionable for Saturday’s game against Charlotte after landing on Amir Johnson and turning his ankle in practice.
The Sixers should take the opportunity to rest Embiid, whether he’s medically cleared or not. There’s no need to take the risk, and there’s ample reason to give him time off following a couple big-minute outings.
To further the cause, Charlotte will be on the second half of a back-to-back. With a healthy Ben Simmons and the other rotation pieces in place, the Sixers would remain favorites without Embiid.
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Even if the game inevitably goes south, letting Embiid rest is important. He shouldn’t play all 82 games and he shouldn’t play 36 minutes every night. He’s too critical to the Sixers’ short and long-term success to shoulder that load.