The Sixers are heading into the 2024-2025 season looking better than they have in years. They upgraded from Tobias Harris to Paul George, added several key bench rotations, and drafted two of the highest-potential players from this year’s class. Most importantly, Joel Embiid came out of the Paris Olympics in perfect health and appeared to be conditioned and ready to go for the season.
But as always, the Sixers must prioritize injury prevention. Perhaps now more than ever, as both Embiid and George have an extensive injury history, the Sixers must find a way to manage their stars’ workload through a long, grueling NBA season. Here are three ways they can do just that.
Maximize the off-ball game (PG8, Jared McCain, Eric Gordon & Kyle Lowry)
The Sixers have long struggled against opponents with strong movement shooters, like the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. It not only kills them in the playoffs, but it also increases their reliance on Joel Embiid in the paint, furthering his injury risk.
Fortunately, the Sixers picked up several players this offseason who specialize in catch-and-shoot threes and transition shooting. Chief among these, of course, is Paul George, who shot a career-high 41.3 percent from deep while still finishing 11th in the league in attempts per game. It’s also worth noting that with George being used more off-ball this past season than in years prior, he logged his highest number of games played (74) since the 2018 season – his last with the Indiana Pacers. While this does mean the Sixers will need to look elsewhere for significant rebounds, using PG in an off-ball role offers an opportunity to meet a critical team need while also protecting the teams’ stars.
On top of this, the Sixers drafted a gem of a transition shooter in Jared McCain this offseason. During his time at Duke, McCain excelled at opening himself up in the slots to hit an instant no-dip three. Of course, McCain will largely be a bench rotation guy while he develops into a real NBA player. But he’ll benefit from the tutelage of veteran three-point shooters Eric Gordon and Kyle Lowry, who can also be used in these roles in short stints.
Stagger Embiid’s minutes across games (Embiid, Drummond vs Reed)
This is an obvious one, but it is worth repeating now that the Sixers are in a very different situation at the backup center compared to last season.
Paul Reed was a gem to have on the team the last four years. His signature toughness and unmatched energy proved to be essential, especially during some of Embiid’s injury stints. However, as a non-traditional center, his effectiveness was largely variable based on the matchup. Skilled ball-handlers could easily navigate around Reed’s defense and get a step ahead to the basket. And though his speed was advantageous against bigger opponents, Reed often struggled mightily against smaller teams – many of whom had been fellow contenders in the East. This meant that Embiid’s time on the bench was often shortened, as leads were quickly narrowed by opponents when he wasn’t playing.
Now, with the return of Andre Drummond, the team has a renewed sense of stability with a more traditional backup center. Drummond has been around long enough to be functional during longer stretches of non-Embiid minutes. Averaging 8.4 points and 9.0 rebounds in 17 minutes a game last season, Drummond can reliably maintain leads when Embiid is off the court.
Embiid averaged over 33 minutes a night last season, which is a lot when you account for the fact that he sat for 15 of a possible 39 fourth quarters. Reducing that by just a couple of minutes per game adds up a whole lot when it comes to valuable rest for the big man.
Allow Maxey to be the first option in the paint
This one might be controversial, but it’s worth the Sixers at least trying out.
Embiid will always be dominant in the paint. It’s his signature, it’s where his best playmaking happens, and it’s what keeps the Sixers as a perennial contender because he is impossible to defend. That shouldn’t change – but it should be a smidge reduced. Tyrese Maxey is a legitimate standalone star. He proved that during Embiid’s injury stint, as well as during the playoffs. He’s an explosive playmaker, a deep-threat sharpshooter, and a top-tier athlete fully capable of charging toward the basket.
It’s perfectly reasonable to have him take on more of the physicality in the paint while adding more threes into Embiid’s shot mix – which the latter is perfectly capable of. The Minnesota Timberwolves combo of Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns is an excellent example of what this looks like when run effectively. Let Embiid roam the perimeter, where he’s less likely to face a pushy double-team and more likely to have an open three (not to mention get back in transition more quickly). And let Maxey use his speed to either get a pull-up jumper or a quick pass before a defender can catch up.
Again – this isn’t the scheme they should be running all game, and it should be matchup-dependent. They should not keep Embiid out of the paint against the big and tall Cleveland Cavaliers, for example. Nor should they eliminate opportunities for Embiid to draw fouls in neck-and-neck games. But they should get creative about using their other stars to reduce the reliance on Embiid’s physicality over the course of the season.
The Sixers must prioritize Embiid’s health
The pressure to win a ring in the Embiid era is only growing, and to date, he’s never been truly healthy in the playoffs. With the Sixers having more talent on their roster now than they have in years, workload management and injury prevention should be a top priority. Adding in these types of strategies may just be the key to finally reaching their full potential.
