The Philadelphia 76ers remade their roster this offseason and are primed for title contention. Daryl Morey brought Paul George to the franchise and did wonders building out their roster around a new Big 3. Fans have already seen PG13 shine, and the Sixers are one of the most exciting teams in the NBA this season.
The focus is on a championship. Embiid has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career and wants to finally reach the postseason in top form. He is already missing time. The repeated injuries have forced the 76ers to make changes and devise a plan to get him there healthy.
In the piece by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Embiid and Morey both shared their plans for back-to-backs moving forward. The Sixers president lumped in Paul George when discussing things.
Joel Embiid and Paul George won’t play back-to-backs this season
Embiid was definite about his plan for back-to-back sets. The 30-year-old was quoted as saying this.
"If I had to guess, I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career."
The seven-time All-Star is not focused on accolades. He wants to enter the playoffs in top form and playing fewer games may be the key to that. Their plan is similar to the one the Raptors followed with Kawhi Leonard when they won the championship and broke the Sixers' hearts in the second round of the playoffs in 2019.
Morey was a bit less definitive, but it was clear that the franchise is prioritizing rest and health for its stars.
"We're going to be smart about it," Morey said. "Part of being smart about it is having both Paul and Joel probably not play many back-to-backs, if any."
The 76ers play 15 back-to-back sets this season. Missing those games alone puts Embiid and George at a maximum of 67 games played. The former MVP and the nine-time All-Star must play in 65 regular season games to be eligible for the major awards, but fans should not expect that to happen. Paul George and Embiid want to win a championship. Being on the All-NBA team or in the running for MVP is not a concern.
The Sixers must worry about giving away too many games. The top of the Eastern Conference is loaded with talent, and Philadelphia does not want to find itself back in the Play-In Tournament.
Tyrese Maxey appears to have taken another leap and should help them avoid disaster when Embiid and George sit. The 76ers must take the regular season seriously if they want to be in a position to win it all. They need their best players healthy, but must win games too.
Philadelphia 76ers fans know Joel Embiid and Paul George will miss one-half of the team’s back-to-backs this season. It is a must to try to keep both stars on the floor over the 100-plus games when factoring in a deep playoff run. Supporters do not want to see it, but it will just be more opportunities for Maxey to shine. Hopefully, the plan works, and the Sixers are ready for the postseason. If not, this may look like a total disaster.