Sixers star Joel Embiid admits he was not supposed to play vs. Suns

The Philadelphia 76ers are dealing with a lot of injuries at the moment as they are banged up all over the lineup. They took on the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday at home and they did so without Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, and Seth Curry and they missed them in a 116-113 loss at home.

The Sixers have been looking to others to step up and they did so as the team got contributions from Danny Green, George Hill, Tyrese Maxey, and others, but the team just could not get it together for the win.

On top of that, the team’s franchise player, Joel Embiid, is still dealing with a left knee bruise that caused him to miss 10 games. The big fella had 38 points and 17 rebounds, but he admitted that he is not in great shape.

“I wasn’t supposed to play,” said Embiid. “I’m not in the best physical shape at this point, but we got a bunch of guys out. It’s my job to, like I always mention, to just go out and be a leader. Just pushing every night.”

The Sixers did not lose any ground for the race for the No. 1 seed as the Brooklyn Nets fell to the Toronto Raptors down in Tampa, but these games are all important now. The No. 1 seed is important to Philadelphia due to how strong they play at home and every game is important now down the stretch.

So despite being a bit banged up, Embiid wants to go out and play for his team.

“I can’t rest even if I’m hurt,” he finished. “I just got to keep pushing because at the end of the day, like I’ve been saying, the number one seed is important. Every single night, I got to go out and fight.”

It does not get any easier as he and the Sixers now board a plane and head to Milwaukee to face the Bucks on Thursday.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!