Sixers analyst gives two reasons why Joel Embiid should not play the rest of the season to recover nagging injuries

Joel Embiid has been having a rough run this season. He has been sidelined on many occasions because of small injuries that have prevented him from regaining his MVP form for his team. On Sunday, Sixers analyst Tony Jones from The Athletic published an article where he gave two reasons for Embiid to stay on the bench.

Embiid has played in only 19 games this season, with his latest game being the 105-103 loss against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. Jones took notes from the game and highlighted that Embiid has not been able to perform at his fullest.

"Embiid shouldn’t be on the floor. He can’t explode offensively off the injured knee, which means his offensive diet is limited to mid-range jumpers, 3-point attempts and foul shots, if he’s getting a friendly whistle," Jones wrote.

He also highlighted that, defensively, the seven-time All-Star can't move laterally which gave a big advantage to the Nets in their Saturday night matchup. In his next reason, Jones suggested that the Sixers should sit out Embiid and tank the rest of the season.

"Pulling the plug on Embiid would allow the Sixers to do what’s needed to get their franchise player healthy. But it would also allow them to do the smart thing."

Getting Joel Embiid off the court for the rest of the season would allow the 2023 MVP to regain his health and work around the injuries to prepare for the next season. Tanking the season would give the Sixers another and more important advantage. They would be able to keep a high draft pick in their next NBA draft which would allow them to draft a young player from a talent-packed draft class.

Despite lingering issues from his left knee injury last season, Embiid is averaging 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game this season.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse explains decision to bench Joel Embiid in fourth quarter against Nets on Saturday

The Philadelphia 76ers suffered a close two-point loss against the Nets on Saturday. Sixers coach Nick Nurse had taken out Joel Embiid from the matchup in the fourth quarter of the game which took many fans by surprise given the close nature of the scoreline at the time.

However, after the game, Nurse explained his actions in a postgame interview.

"That group [Maxey, Grimes, Oubre, PG, Yabu] was just playing so well together and had a good feel for the game at that point. I just wanted to let them roll with it," the Sixers coach said.

Joel Embiid has been dealing with nagging injuries this season and his teammate Paul George who has been in the same boat shared some advice on the matter. Nurse, on the other hand, has been appreciative of Embiid's efforts of playing through injury.