Sixers' Joel Embiid, Doc Rivers Discuss Downside of Blowouts Before Playoffs

Winning in the NBA is never a bad thing. Especially if the team that's winning is attempting to lock in the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Lately, the Philadelphia 76ers have been getting the job done as they're on quite the roll, picking up their sixth-straight win and securing a two-game lead over Brooklyn.

While a few of the Sixers' latest matchups have been closer than expected, Philly has been dominating their competition more often than not as of late. Ever since blowing out the Oklahoma City Thunder two Mondays ago, the 76ers have outscored their recent competition by significant margins of 31, 44, 22, 12, and 20.

Of the last six matchups, only the San Antonio Spurs offered the 76ers a legitimate challenge as they forced overtime and only allowed the Sixers to win by two, with the final basket coming within a second of the game's ending.

Blowing teams out is good for obvious reasons. One reason is that the Sixers pick up a convincing victory, improving their status as the top team in the East. The second reason is that the key rotation members have an opportunity to pick up some extra rest as "old school load management" plays a part.

However, the extended rest has its downside. And following Wednesday night's dominant win over the Houston Rockets, 76ers head coach Doc Rivers weighed out the pros and cons of key players participating in only three quarters lately.

"I'm always going back and forth on whether or not playing your normal minutes is good or not," Rivers said on Wednesday. "I think it's good for all of our guys. I think the science people would actually differ. They think the guys, their normal minutes are what they actually should play. It helps them in the long run, which is interesting. I just know getting them out in a big lead is safer."

To Rivers, ensuring his players remain healthy before the NBA Playoffs begin is key for the rest of the season. And while it's hard to disagree with that sentiment, Sixers center Joel Embiid understands both sides of the discussion.

"I think it's good, and it's not," Embiid explained in regards to getting additional time off on game nights. "I want to play as much as I can to make sure that I'm ready for the load in the playoffs when we get there. I'm going to play 36-38 minutes a game. So, I want to make sure that I'm ready. When we have games like that -- especially the last five games -- I only played three fourth quarters. So, when we get back, I gotta do my whole conditioning. It's great, but it's also something that's not good." 

The good news for Embiid and the Sixers is that the remainder of their schedule gets slightly more difficult for them. On Friday, they'll face a New Orleans Pelicans team that got the best of Philly a couple of months back. While the Detroit and Indiana matchups could go either way, the Sixers will travel for a tough game against the Miami Heat next week, which should offer the Sixers a stiff challenge before playoffs. 

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