Despite getting swept in the semis, the Philadelphia 76ers still managed to turn in a very respectable campaign this season. Even with all the injuries they suffered, they surpassed the unfair expectations levied on their heads. Now, with the offseason now upon them, the front office will have to iron out the roster and fine-tune the details in order to prep the squad for a bigger and better 2026-27 campaign.
But as has been the case for the last decade, managing Joel Embiid will be at the forefront of their organizational strategy. The former Most Valuable Player appeared in just 38 games in the regular season, although he did make it back in time for the playoffs. However, with each passing year, it has only become apparent that the team has no other choice but to keep holding Embiid out of games as much as possible to preserve his body.
As one anonymous league executive said, "Run it back, load-manage Joel [Embiid] as much as they can, be a playoff team and try to stay healthy. I think there's stuff you can do on the margins." Really, this is the only tenable strategy the team can possibly rely on if they want to keep making real noise in the Eastern Conference.
The 76ers have no other way to deal with Joel Embiid but to remain ultra-conservative
As everyone knows, Embiid is probably not only the most injury-prone star in the league, but also the most unlucky. Just this season, he had to undergo an appendectomy procedure right before the playoffs, which caused him to nearly miss all of their first-round affair against Boston.
But even before that fortuitous happenstance, the 76ers have already adopted a uniquely conservative approach with their superstar. He was not in uniform for back-to-backs this season, and he was held out of games for even the most minor inconveniences save for the playoffs.
The 76ers will have to keep doing this if they want to maximize their chances. Embiid is no longer someone who can still handle the rigor of an 82-game season, and the team has enough talent in its nucleus anyway to absorb Embiid being sidelined by design from time to time.
It might not be a great look optics-wise, but the 76ers cannot exactly afford to be crowd pleasers at this point. Joel Embiid is still the biggest determinant of what their playoff ceiling is, and protecting him is an imperative, even at the cost of some wins in the regular season.
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