The Philadelphia 76ers managed to spill some beans during Media Day. With preseason slated to begin in three days, it’s only a matter of time until fans get their first glimpse on the relatively new-look squad taking center court.
A lot of questions will undoubtedly be propounded. Hopefully, they all get answered before the regular season begins. One big thing that must be addressed though is the playing status of Joel Embiid in the lead-up to the 2024-25 season. After an intense stint in the 2024 Summer Olympics, will the coaching staff ease him back?
The answer seems to be yes, at least for now.
The 76ers are finally taking the high road with Joel Embiid
In a recent exchange, Joel Embiid bared that he has not participated in any team scrimmage yet despite the team having kickstarted training camp a few days ago.
#Sixers center Joel Embiid still hasn’t scrimmaged during training camp. The 2023 MVP and seven-time All-Star talks about managing his health: pic.twitter.com/Uk2Ymhb7Ri
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) October 3, 2024
Finally, Philly is starting to operating under a less visceral MO when it comes to managing Embiid’s load. Already a pretty injury-prone player himself, he’s also only a few months from celebrating his 31st birthday. Clearly, the coaching staff has to move with utmost caution and be more mindful of what’s on his plate.
In all likelihood, the team will probably sit him out for most of the preseason, maybe suiting up for the penultimate tune-up to give the coaching staff a clear idea of what the actual rotation could look like. Otherwise, there’a really no reason to make him spent early on.
Hopefully, this philosophy carries over to the regular season. With a very competent backup in Andre Drummond this time around, the 76ers won’t have to look at the non-Embiid minutes as a virtual concession any longer.
Limiting his minutes to around the ballpark of 31 minutes per outing would be pretty ideal to keep him as fresh as possible. After all, the addition of Paul George and the continuous improvement of Tyrese Maxey will only incentivize the team to start shaving his burden on both ends of the floor.
After a string of seasons marred by untimely injuries and ultimately, on-court burnouts, the Philadelphia 76ers seem to be taking a long-term perspective into their very fiber — a pretty welcome sight for a franchise with a pretty bold mandate to win a championship as soon as possible and to have staying power as a contender for as long as possible.