Making big changes in their roster in the offseason, the Philadelphia 76ers are once again in the conversation as title contenders. Bringing in Paul George to team up with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Even after setting up to pay $405 million, collectively, to only Embiid and PG, the duo will spend limited time together on the court. This, as announced on live TV, is going to be the “new normal” for the 76ers! The Philly side will try a new strategy for their star center, as he’s rarely been there when they need him the most.

Injuries have consistently hampered the 7-foot center’s career, especially during the playoffs, leaving the Sixers hanging out to dry. Suffering facial fractures in 2018 and 2022 and knee injuries in 2021 and 2023, only appearing for 433 games for the 76ers since 2016.

Joel Embiid suffered a left lateral meniscus injury in January, which cost him the final two months of the last regular season. After suffering a first-round exit in the playoffs to the New York Knicks, Team President, Daryl Morey had to intervene. However, last Sunday, Embiid was, again, ruled out for the rest of the preseason. Dropping his preseason games count in 2024 to 0, from 1 in 2023.

“What we’re seeing with Joel Embiid, it’s part of the new normal that we’re going to see with Joel Embiid. I’m told it’s gonna include periodic time off for him during the course of the season; it’s gonna include regular[ly] scheduled checkups for Joel Embiid throughout the course of the season,” reported ESPN’s Shams Charania.

“He is not worried, he is not concerned about any accolades this season, he is not concerned about the 65-game limit for the All-NBA team or MVP,” added Charania. The 76ers will be doing everything in their power to have their 7-time All-Star healthy for the playoffs!

The former MVP has a plethora of individual accolades, but only the championship remains elusive for the star center. Joel Embiid could only represent the Philadelphia-based outfit in 39 games last season. At the time of his injury, and in those 34 games, the hooper led the league in scoring, raking in a whopping 35.3 points per game! But then missed the next 29 games, a serious blow for the 76ers.

Joel Embiid’s bold statement on ‘back-to-backs’ marks new mission statement for Philly

Even though since 2018, The Process has only missed 8 games out of the 67 postseason games the 76ers have played. However, during a lot of this time, Joel Embiid wasn’t at his 100%, hobbling around. After the 1st round playoff exit last season, the hooper texted Morey, “We got to do whatever it takes to make sure that in the postseason I’m healthy,” explained Embiid during media day.

The 76ers in recent years have tried everything to win the championship. Having possessed the likes of Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons, and James Harden, alongside their prized possession, Embiid. Not to forget the instability and the drama the team underwent. Now with PG and Maxey in their arsenal, the 76ers are re-fuelling. It has become an organization-wide mission to keep their star healthy. 

With their own Big Three this season, the 76ers can opt to start any two of them, as recently hinted by Morey. “Part of being smart about it is having both Paul and Joel probably not play many back-to-backs, if any,” he said.

PG himself has had trouble staying healthy in his career. This way the 76ers can avoid playing George and Embiid back-to-back. Joel himself is dedicated to the cause. Losing 25-30 pounds before showing up at the camp earlier and he is looking to lose more weight to relieve the burden on his knees. 

“If I had to guess, I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career,” Joel Embiid recently said.

Philly boss Nick Nurse is no stranger to playing without the team’s star. Nurse managed Kawhi Leonard during the Toronto Raptors 2018-19 championship season. During their run to the championship, Kawhi played only 60 games and sat out for one leg of back-to-backs. Resulting in him playing all 24 games postseason averaging 30.5 points and 39.1 minutes per game!

While this strategy may cause the 76ers to lose some regular season matches, it could be its way to win the championship. 

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.