Joel Embiid's Battling Fatigue, but Resting vs. Nuggets Wasn't an Option

Joel Embiid's been healthier than ever this season. If all goes right for the 76ers' MVP-caliber big man, he'll wrap up the 2021-2022 NBA season playing in the

Joel Embiid's been healthier than ever this season. If all goes right for the 76ers' MVP-caliber big man, he'll wrap up the 2021-2022 NBA season playing in the most amount of regular-season games in his career.

Monday night's matchup against the Denver Nuggets marked Embiid's 55th game this year. With 15 left to go, he could exceed his career-high of 64 games played. However, he'll cut it close.

Even if Embiid remains totally healthy for the final stretch of the season, he's more than likely going to miss games. Not only did the All-Star big man mention he'll take some rest days himself recently, but Sixers head coach Doc Rivers made it clear that rest days are in Embiid's future.

Back to backs used to be the perfect time for Embiid to take a game off, but the All-Star center didn't take that route this week. When the Sixers faced the Orlando Magic on the road on Sunday night, Embiid clocked in for 41 minutes, playing all four quarters plus overtime.

The following night, the Sixers returned home to South Philly to host Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Many believed that a 40-plus minute shift would force the Sixers to shut Embiid down against the Nuggets -- but the big man mentioned that was never going to happen.

Embiid Shoots Down the Rest Day

“There was no chance,” Embiid said in regards to the idea of resting on Monday. “I listen to them. I listen to whatever they tell me and I make the decision. It could’ve been, but it’s a tough game. We gotta measure ourselves against these types of opponents. We gotta play against tough teams and figure out where we really are.”

Unlike Philadelphia's Sunday night opponent, the Sixers faced a Western Conference playoff contender on Monday night. The Sixers won't see another matchup against the Nuggets unless it's in the 2022 NBA Finals, but they clearly viewed Monday's matchup as a good measuring stick for where they're at as a team. Therefore, Embiid wanted to push through the fatigue, which was admittedly difficult for him to do.

“It was tough,” he said. “Obviously, I played more than 40 minutes last night. I think this year, I really only missed two games other than those games because of COVID. I’m starting to feel it, but I gotta keep pushing."

While pushing through the fatigue, Embiid scored a game-high of 34 points in 36 minutes. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for his team to pull off the win as they came up short against the Nuggets with a 114-110 loss. 

The Sixers are still a work in progress. So, Embiid doesn't feel too much comfort in taking days off right now. The All-Star center understands the value in resting before the 2022 playoff run but also understands that time is limited.

"There are 15 more games, so we got 15 more games in between that and practices to find ways how to get better so there’s really no time to really rest," Embiid finished. "We gotta figure out what’s gonna help us win.”

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