Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will sit out the team’s three-game road trip that began Saturday night at Minnesota, coach Brett Brown told reporters Saturday.
The Sixers had already said Embiid would miss Saturday’s game, but Brown said Saturday that Embiid will also miss Monday’s game at Dallas and Wednesday’s game at Atlanta as part of a predetermined plan to rest Embiid down the stretch.
Brown said the team will re-evaluate Embiid’s status before Thursday’s home game against Milwaukee.
Asked about Embiid sitting out with the playoffs around the corner, Brown said it “isn’t ideal” but also is the right move to ensure Embiid is healthy for the postseason.
“In a perfect world, you’d have all these guys together and playing, and playing a lot, you know, growing in relation to familiarity and so on,” Brown said.
“You can go this way or that way. The way that we have chosen to go is the wisest of our options. I’m sure of that.”
Embiid has missed time since the All-Star break because of soreness in his left knee, but Brown emphasized that the decision to rest him was just “load management.” He added that the team isn’t concerned that Embiid’s health would be an issue in the playoffs.
“This is not sort of a reaction to symptoms,” Brown said. “It’s just load management. Again, we’re just trying to be smart and deliver him to play in the playoffs ready to go.”