Before the Philadelphia 76ers fired up their regular-season opener against the New York Knicks, ESPN’s Shams Charania noted that the team planned to manage Joel Embiid and LeBron James’ minutes throughout the first few weeks of the 2026-2027 NBA season. The initial report stated the Sixers would be capped around 30 minutes.
The first outing of the season proved that Nick Nurse was certainly willing to go over that. James checked in for 34 minutes against the Knicks. Joel Embiid had 33 minutes of action.
When the Sixers returned home to host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night, the game had a similar feel in terms of Embiid-James minutes. Both of them exceeded 30 minutes. After the game, Nick Nurse revealed that the team nearly executed the perfect plan for both, exposing where the real cap is.
The Embiid-LeBron minutes plan
LeBron James played for 33 minutes in the second game against the Cavaliers—a slightly smaller shift compared to the opener against the Knicks in New York City. As for Embiid, he was just about in the same range as in the first game. Both players played a major role in the comeback from a 29-point deficit against the Cavs.
James’ 33-minute shift included a double-double. He shot 5-for-14 from the field, knocking down one of his four shots beyond the arc. He added six points from the charity stripe. The veteran forward stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and one block. James once again showed off his defensive value, in addition to his playmaking.
As for Embiid, he had a much better offensive showing. After struggling with his scoring in the first game, he got back to his ways by knocking 50% of his shots from the field. He also got to the charity stripe for nine attempts, finding success on seven of those shots. The big man contributed 24 points to the pot. He also came down with seven rebounds and dished out one assist. Best of all, he took care of the ball, turning it over just once.
The 76ers went from being down 29 points against Cleveland, to collecting a 114-106 win with a second-half rally. Those first two wins were impressive, considering they were against Eastern Conference finalists. Now, the next test comes this weekend, when the Sixers face a back-to-back set. Not only will the minutes plan be of interest, but player availability as well. Joel Embiid already revealed he planned play one game and sit the other. As for LeBron, his situation is still up in the air.
The Sixers begin the back-to-back against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.
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