Sources: Joel Embiid won’t play against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday
Joel Embiid is closing on his second consecutive scoring title, averaging a league-best 33.1 points per game.
Kyle Lowry covers Sixers Joel Embiid who is looking to Sixers# 18 Shake Milton for an inbounds pass in the second half the Miami Heat at the Philadelphia 76ers NBA game at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Joel Embiid may have played in his final regular-season contest of the 2022-23 campaign.
The 76ers center will not play against the Atlanta Hawks Friday night at State Farm Arena, according to sources. The MVP frontrunner didn’t travel to Atlanta with the team Thursday night.
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James Harden, however, was scheduled to travel with the team.
This comes after the Miami Heat defeated the Sixers, 129-101, Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center. Embiid finished with a team-high 21 points, six rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 30 minutes, 26 seconds The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder sat out the fourth quarter.
Embiid’s status for Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center has yet to be determined, according to a source. However, there’s a great chance that he won’t play out of caution.
Embiid is closing on his second consecutive scoring title, averaging a league-best 33.1 points per game. He’s also seventh in rebounds (10.2) and blocks (1.7).
The six-time All-Star finished with 52 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday’s 103-101 victory over the Boston Celtics at the Wells Fargo Center.
Miami’s Jimmy Butler and Sixers Joel Embiid jump for a rebound during the Miami Heat at the Philadelphia 76ers NBA game at the Wells Fargo Center in Phila., Pa. on April 6, 2023. Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Miami’s Jimmy Butler tries to block a shot by Sixers James Harden during the Miami Heat at the Philadelphia 76ers NBA game at the Wells Fargo Center in Phila., Pa. on April 6, 2023. Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Miami’s # 7 Kyle Lowry covers Sixers Joel Embiid who is looking to Sixers# 18 Shake Milton for an inbounds pass in the second half the Miami Heat at the Philadelphia 76ers NBA game at the Wells Fargo Center in Phila., Pa. on April 6, 2023. Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Sixer’s # 30 Furkan Korkmaz shoots around the Heat’s # 77 Omer Yurtseven in the second half of the Miami Heat at the Philadelphia 76ers NBA game at the Wells Fargo Center in Phila., Pa. on April 6, 2023. Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Miami’s Jimmy Butler passes the ball when up against defense from Sixers De’Anthony Melton in the second quarter of the Miami Heat at the Philadelphia 76ers NBA game at the Wells Fargo Center in Phila., Pa. on April 6, 2023. Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Miami’s # 7 Kyle Lowry knocks the ball away from Sixers’s Joel Embiid in the third quarter of the Miami Heat at the Philadelphia 76ers NBA game at the Wells Fargo Center in Phila., Pa. on April 6, 2023. Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Sixers # 44 Paul Reed goes in underhand for a basket in the second quarter of the Miami Heat at the Philadelphia 76ers NBA game at the Wells Fargo Center in Phila., Pa. on April 6, 2023. Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Sixers # 5 Montreal Harrell works around Miami’s # 77Omer Yurtseven in the second half of the Miami Heat at the Philadelphia 76ers NBA game at the Wells Fargo Center in Phila., Pa. on April 6, 2023. Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Sixer’s Tobias Harris battles Miami’s #14 Tyler Herron and # 2 Kevin Love in the first quarter of the Miami Heat at the Philadelphia 76ers NBA game at the Wells Fargo Center in Phila., Pa. on April 6, 2023. Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers waves goodbye to the Miami Heat players after the Miami Heat at the Philadelphia 76ers NBA game at the Wells Fargo Center in Phila., Pa. on April 6, 2023. Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Harden had 14 points, four rebounds and four assists in Thursday’s loss. He’s averaging a league-best 10.7 assists.
The Sixers (52-28) locked up the Eastern Conference No. 3 seed for the upcoming playoffs. They will be assured of facing the Brooklyn Nets in the first round if Brooklyn defeats the Orlando Magic Friday night in New York.
The Nets (44-36) need one more victory or a loss by the Heat (45-37) to clinch the sixth seed.
As the Sixers beat reporter, I provide daily coverage, perspective, a social media presence and long-form takeout pieces about one of the NBA's young emerging teams.
