Is Joel Embiid playing tonight against Heat? Latest injury report on 76ers’ superstar ahead of matchup (April 6, 2023)

Joel Embiid will be available for the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night against the Miami Heat. The 76ers have already clinched a playoff spot but the team wants to finish the season strong.

Philadelphia will be playing the first game of a back-to-back versus the Heat. Embiid may likely be forced to sit out on Friday when the 76ers visit the Atlanta Hawks.

“The Process” just dropped a 52-point masterpiece on Tuesday against the Boston Celtics. He’s looking to maintain his sizzling form, particularly as the race for the MVP award continues.

Joel Embiid may have overtaken Nikola Jokic as the odds-on favorite to win the MVP plum, but he’s not resting on his laurels. A solid outing against the Heat tonight may just unquestionably put to rest the conversation of the rightful winner of the Michael Jordan MVP Trophy.

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Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers still need to work on their game as the playoffs are about to start

The Philadelphia 76ers may have already clinched a playoff spot, but they could still clean up their act. Joel Embiid’s monster night against the Boston Celtics has overshadowed a few things that have bugged the 76ers all season long.

Philly nearly lost to Boston which didn’t have Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams III. The 76ers also needed a near-perfect game from Embiid to hold off the reigning NBA Eastern Conference champs.

The 76ers are 27th in the NBA in pace (97.20), which is reasonable considering that they built their offense around "The Process." They're also the second-worst team in possessions (7,750) due to their grinding style on offense.

This season, it seems like they've forgotten to push the ball since they still have speedsters such as Tyrese Maxey and De'Anthony Melton.

In Philadelphia's 103-101 win over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, the 76ers couldn't even score one basket in transition. On numerous occasions when they could have pushed the pace, they simply wouldn't.

The plan to slow down the game is also affecting them on the defensive end. Boston outscored Philly 15-0 in fastbreak points. Transition points were the biggest difference in the game and could have wasted Joel Embiid's 52-point explosion.

The 76ers have been prone to giving up too many transition buckets this season. They allow opponents 15.6 fastbreak points per game. They are the third-worst in this category, just slightly above the Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets, teams who are out of the playoffs.

One can easily guarantee that opposing teams will concentrate their defense in stopping Joel Embiid. If they can't get out and score points on the break, they'll have a hard time breaking down opponents in the postseason.

On the flip side, if they can't efficiently stop teams from doing damage in transition, their problems will only get bigger.

Joel Embiid deserves to be rested after probably an MVP campaign. The Philadelphia 76ers, however, have things to work on to avoid another postseason disappointment.