Resting Joel Embiid for three games smart approach for Philadelphia 76ers

As frustrating as it may seem for the Philadelphia 76ers to be resting Joel Embiid for at least three games, this approach will hopefully pay off.

Before Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that Joel Embiid would miss the next three games in what was described as a predetermined plan by Brett Brown.

On top of their favorable matchup against the Timberwolves, the next two games for the Sixers consist of road meetings with the Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks, making it clear as to why they feel comfortable with resting their star center.

However, with Philadelphia hosting the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday in what will be a key Eastern Conference battle, it’s also understandable as to why the team would prefer to make sure that Embiid is in the best shape possible for that matchup.

While the Sixers may be out of the running for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, this matchup against the Bucks could help them make another statement in regards to competing with a top contender.

Depending on how things play out over the next few months, Philadelphia could very well run into Milwaukee down the road with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line.

In other words, Thursday’s game against the Bucks will provide the Sixers with the chance to make another statement like a few weeks ago in regards to being able to take down the potential top seed in the conference, which would be huge.

With all due respect to the Mavericks and Hawks, these are two games the Sixers can afford to get by with Embiid since even if they finished on the losing end, this really wouldn’t impact their chances of clinching the No. 3 seed.

At the end of the day, Philadelphia is focusing on the long-term picture with Embiid, and making sure he will be at full strength with as much rest as possible before their playoff run officially gets underway.

Maybe unlike last spring when they were embarrassed by the Boston Celtics in the semifinals, the Sixers will be able to put together a much better run this time around with Emiid playing a key role as usual.

Plus, if Philadelphia ends up winning all three contests while Embiid rests, this will all work out even better than expected.