The Philadelphia 76ers thrashed the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night in a 153-131 victory. But the headlines before the game only centered around Joel Embiid’s absence. The one-time MVP made multiple tweets, first to question the team’s decision, and then a second was in dejection regarding him being on the sidelines.

It started when Ky Carlin of USA Today, who covers the 76ers, informed everyone on social media that the injury report had listed Joel Embiid out for the Wednesday matchup. It seemed as if that message had not reached the Cameroonian star, as the 32-year-old was confused about his playing status. In fact, Embiid questioned if it was an April Fool’s message trying to mess with him.

“Must be APRIL FOOLS joke???? Played against Miami in the same conditions and I’m planning to play tonight!!! #SweatItOut”

It was clear that the 76ers’ star believed he was healthy enough to play, because he did play against the Miami Heat in a similar condition. He played the entire game, logged in 34 minutes, and even scored a team-high 26 points in the 119-109 loss to Miami. He felt he was ready to suit up against the Wizards, but the 76ers had other plans. Joel Embiid would send another tweet hours later, and again seemed disappointed about his absence.

“I guess they won’t let me play basketball!!”

He has only featured in 36 games this season and recently missed 13 consecutive games because of a strained right oblique. He even confirmed last week, “My knees haven’t been an issue for a long time. That’s past me.” So, the 76ers star clearly wants to play and get more reps before the postseason begins. But the Sixers ruled Joel Embiid out for tonight’s game as a precautionary measure.

The team is prioritizing load management and health management now that they’ve clinched a playoff spot. While the knee issue is past him, the oblique issue is really painful, as Embiid admitted last week. “The oblique was very tricky, and it still is tricky. It’s really nothing you can do about it. Just got to let it ride and hope that it doesn’t get worse. You can’t cough, can’t sneeze. Every time you sneeze, it feels like you go right back to where you started. It’s still not where it’s supposed to be.”

And he has implied that it may take until the offseason for things to get better. This could be the reason why the 76ers are avoiding any minor hiccup on the road to postseason glory.

Nick Nurse provides more clarity on Joel Embiid

The confusion from the 32-year-old is quite valid. The injury report on Tuesday did not list Embiid as being out against the Wizards. So, Nick Nurse gave an update before the game and made sure to remove any doubts. “We had activities this morning, film and stuff,” said Nurse. “He didn’t make the film after he kinda reported some sickness from Miami the other day.

Medical, obviously, went to see him, and wanted him to get checked out by a doctor. We, obviously, decided to rule him out at that point. He, obviously, played the other night through some of it,” Nurse explained. “But they just decided that a couple days here in a row that he needed to be checked out.”

The head coach did not reveal any exact issue for which Joel Embiid was ruled out. And was waiting for the final report from the doctor to understand the concern. But was hopeful and removed further doubts,”Just illness. Sickness, yeah.” Even with Joel Embiid tweeting, it makes sense that he is ready to suit up. Meaning the absence was precautionary and does not hint at another long hiatus for the 76ers’ superstar.