PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers have two games remaining on the schedule ahead of the playoffs and are focused on preparing their main guys for the games that matter most.

Joel Embiid played 30:26 in Thursday’s 129-101 loss to the Miami Heat, and he scored 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting. Considering the Sixers had nothing to play for on Thursday and in these final two games, Philadelphia has to consider holding him out.

“Obviously, it’s all about the playoffs,” Embiid said after the loss. “With no chance of moving up or moving down, you got to think about what’s best for everybody. So just talking to the team, we’re gonna figure it out about tomorrow (Friday) and the last game of the season, but like I said, the focus has always been on the playoffs.”

The Sixers face the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, but Embiid is not travelling with the team.

#Sixers center Joel Embiid will not play against the Atlanta Hawks Friday night at State Farm Arena, according to sources. The MVP frontrunner isn’t even traveling with the team tonight to Atlanta.

— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) April 7, 2023

This is the smart move. There is not much reason to really play Embiid in that matchup or even in Sunday’s season finale against the Brooklyn Nets. It will be interesting to see how the Sixers handle that game.