As the Sixers are set to begin their season on Wednesday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, they will be without both Joel Embiid and Paul George. George hyperextended his left knee during a preseason matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, while Embiid has been ramping up since training camp started but has yet hit the court in five-on-five situations.
With two of their three stars currently recovering, the organization is showing patience, taking a cautious approach and ruling out both players for at least the first week of the season.
While it is disappointing to fans that Joel Embiid will not be suiting up for the season opener, partially due to the lack of transparency from the organization, this seems to be the new normal going forward in how he is managed. Embiid not suiting up Wednesday night is something the organization has to answer to because of the optics and past issues with the lack of communication; regardless, Embiid playing in fewer games is the new status quo.
Head coach Nick Nurse mentioned during the preseason that Embiid would be doing a lot of contact stuff in practice to make sure he is healthy in the playoffs.
“If I had to guess, I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career,” Joel Embiid told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.
In that same piece, Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey discussed the franchise’s plan for their 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.”
As both their stars continue their load-management plans, the Sixers will depend on Tyrese Maxey and the upgraded supporting cast to keep them afloat. With this approach, fans will have to show a fair bit of patience with the team, as the stars are load-managed in the interest of the team’s future.
This strategy may keep the Sixers in the middle of the standings of the Eastern Conference, but the team believes that if their stars are healthy from April on, they can beat anyone.
