Joel Embiid asks reporters to lobby for him to play, and the Sixers sit him anyway

Joel Embiid asked for help and didn't get it. After posting 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in Saturday's 127-116 win over Milwaukee, the 76ers center told reporters he wanted to play the second night of the back-to-back against Detroit. On Sunday, Philadelphia ruled him out with right foot plantar fasciitis management, according to ESPN and the team's injury report.

"I actually want to play tomorrow, so can you guys put pressure on them," Embiid said with a smile after the game, per ESPN. "I want to play tomorrow, so start writing articles and put pressure on them so they'll let me play."

The team's answer came on its 1 p.m. injury report. Embiid is out for the 7:30 p.m. game against the Pistons, along with Dominick Barlow, Jabari Walker and Tacko Fall. That leaves Adem Bona as Philadelphia's only true center available, ESPN reported. LeBron James, who sat Saturday with lower back and sciatica management, is off the report and expected to play.

ESPN notes Embiid has averaged 49 games a season over his 10 seasons. The Sixers chose to play him on the front end of this back-to-back against Milwaukee and rest him on the back end, and Embiid made clear he would have picked differently.

Philadelphia is 3-0 and Detroit is 2-0, so the top of the Eastern Conference is on the line in an October game. Detroit is also shorthanded, playing without All-NBA center Jalen Duren, who is out at least two weeks with a hamstring strain. The betting line flipped after the news, from Philadelphia by 2.5 in the AP preview to Detroit by 2.5 at DraftKings.

The Sixers are managing him for April. He wanted tonight, and he lost that argument.

Philadelphia visits Indiana on Wednesday. Whether Embiid plays both ends of the next back-to-back, and who the team lets decide, is the thing to watch.