The Philadelphia 76ers are entering the season with a simple priority: keep LeBron James and Joel Embiid on the floor without overworking them early.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Philadelphia’s plan is to hold both stars to roughly 30 minutes a game during the first few weeks of the season. He said, “My understanding is Lebron James, Joel Embiid - the hope is within the first few weeks of the season limit them to around 30 minutes a game,” Charania said.
That approach makes sense for a team that knows how much offense it already has, but also understands that health is the real separator. James and Embiid both dealt with injuries last season, and the Sixers are trying to avoid repeating that story.
Embiid, meanwhile, says he feels good as the regular season opens. “Pretty good," Embiid said.
"Not bad. I don't know, that's probably (he took a pause), I said I would never dunk again.
In the moment, he did block me the first time so I was kind of pissed off about it. So I was hoping that he would jump again, so that's why I went for it.
But, yeah, that's probably the last dunk of my career."
James’ health is still something the team will be watching closely, but there’s optimism about how he looks now compared with this time a year ago. “LeBron missed the first 15 games of last season and was clearly limited with his handle as he battled sciatica issues.
It coincided with his first summer playing golf consistently. He looks noticeably healthier this offseason and more fluid with his movement,” NBA writer Damien Peters wrote.
For now, the Sixers are focused on the opening stretch and on protecting two of their biggest pieces for the long haul. The regular season is 82 games, and Philadelphia’s early plan is to keep both James and Embiid near that 30-minute range unless the game situation, like overtime, changes things. As the season settles in, their minutes could rise once they’re fully into rhythm.
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Sixers Home Opener Brings An Early Test They Should Feel
The 76ers first home game of the season arrives with some real weight behind it. After opening by beating the Knicks 106-100 on ring night in New York, Philadelphia comes back to the city for a matchup with a Cavaliers team that has spent the offseason reshaping itself and talking like a contender. For a Sixers group trying to set an early tone, it is the sort of test that should tell them plenty about where they stand.
Cleveland has not been subtle about its ambitions, making major roster changes and bringing in Donovan Mitchell while also adding James Harden. With LeBron James now in Philadelphia, the Cavaliers are carrying added pressure to turn those moves into something more than paper strength, and the home opener gives the Sixers a chance to measure themselves against a team that expects to be in the championship conversation. It is still early, but this is the kind of game that can start to define how serious a season feels. [Read more 🡒]
76ers Shooting Search Could Put A Familiar Name Back In Play
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The bigger question is timing. The 76ers would need to open a roster spot before making a move, but the possibility of adding Knecht later in the season gives them a straightforward path to a potential shooting upgrade without forcing an immediate decision. For a team still weighing ways to add spacing, that makes this one worth watching as the roster picture settles. [Read more 🡒]
76ers May Have Found A Surprising Way To Survive Embiid Minutes
Early in the season, the 76ers are already having to think creatively about their frontcourt rotation, and one of the more unusual ideas on the board has come directly from Joel Embiid. With injuries and limited depth at center forcing the staff to search for answers, the conversation has turned toward using LeBron James as a nominal center in certain lineups, a wrinkle that would give Philadelphia another way to stay afloat when Embiid is off the floor.
The concept is not being framed as a full-time shift, but rather a situational tactic for moments when Embiid is sidelined or in foul trouble. For a team trying to preserve its lineup flexibility and survive the minutes when its anchor is unavailable, it is the sort of unconventional adjustment that can keep games from slipping away while the coaches look for more permanent solutions. [Read more 🡒]