Embiid, Harden Expected to Get Rest Days Down the Stretch

The 2021-2022 NBA season will conclude sooner than later. For the Philadelphia 76ers, they have 17 games left on schedule. While that's not a ton of time for the Sixers to get their stars Joel Embiid and James Harden totally comfortable playing alongside each other, the team seems to know they won't use every single one of those matchups with Embiid and Harden in the lineup.

In today's NBA, rest is vital. As teams want their star players to avoid significant injuries as much as possible, they'll get an off day here and there, as it's a long and grueling season. Joel Embiid and James Harden had their fair share of rest days in the past.

That won't change this season. For Harden, he's only been with the Sixers for roughly a month. Although he's been around the team for 11 games, Harden appeared in six of those matchups. He missed the first four games due to hamstring tightness. After making his debut coming back from the All-Star break, Harden played in four-straight games before getting a planned rest night.

Harden played in the previous two games and is slated to compete against the Orlando Magic on Sunday night. As for Joel Embiid, he's been healthier than ever this year as he's on pace to play in the most regular-season games he's played in his career. When he makes his start on Sunday night, it'll mark his 54th this season.

The last time Embiid missed a game was back on January 31, when the Sixers hosted the Memphis Grizzlies. At the time, the Sixers gave Embiid a rest night after playing in 21-straight games. When he tips off against Orlando on Sunday, that will mark 16-straight. 

It's unclear when the next time Embiid or Harden will get a planned rest night, but Sixers head coach Doc Rivers made it clear on Saturday that it's bound to happen at times during the final stretch of the season.

Rivers Talks Rest Days

“Joel and James, we kind of have a mapped-out game plan for,” said coach Doc Rivers. “Danny (Green) is getting rest just because he keeps getting injured so we don’t have to worry about him, but even Tyrese has played a lot of minutes. We probably will rest him a game somewhere. He’ll not want that, but we’ll probably be good.” via Ky Carlin of USA Today's Sixers Wire

While Rivers revealed that planned rest days for Embiid and Harden are ahead, he wouldn't tell when they would happen for strategic purposes.

Losing some of the limited time that Embiid and Harden have to build chemistry certainly isn't the best-case scenario. Still, it's the smartest play for the long haul as the Sixers intend to make a championship run this upcoming postseason.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.