One of the pleasant surprises of this young NBA season has been the Philadelphia 76ers. Fresh off a disastrous 2024-25 campaign that saw them finish with 24 wins, their lowest total since the ‘Trust the Process’ days, Philly has been rejuvenated, and their 7-4 record has them near the top of the Eastern Conference.
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Last year’s team was embodied by the continued calcification of Joel Embiid and Paul George, two former superstars whose best days were clearly behind them. This season has seen a youth movement, as Tyrese Maxey and No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe have formed one of the best young backcourts in the league.
George has yet to make his season debut as he recovers from offseason knee surgery, while Embiid has played with a minutes restrictions to start the season but has missed five games with knee issues of his own. On yesterday’s appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, Reggie Miller said that there’s no easy answer for what the team should do with the former MVP.
“I think the Sixers are in the situation of damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” he said. “Because if you increase his minutes now and he gets hurt, everyone’s gonna jump up in arms and be like, ‘Well we told you to put him on a minutes restriction,’ and if he’s on a minutes restrictions, you’ve got the player, Embiid, crying about playing more minutes.”
Embiid played only 19 games last season, and 39 in the season before that. For that very reason, Miller believes, “this is the safe approach.” There aren’t many examples of a big man somehow getting healthier after he turns 30, and if the Sixers have playoff aspirations, which it seems like they do, “You want to have the most healthiest version of Joel Embiid come April and May,” Miller said.
Embiid is no longer the type of player that can carry a team, but even in a reduced role, he can still make an impact. He’s averaging nearly as many points per minute as he did in his MVP season, and when he does play, the Sixers are 4-2 with the two losses coming by a combined three points. When he doesn’t, they’re 3-2.
Miller believes the Sixers need to keep Embiid’s minutes restriction in place for at least a while longer. “Once the All-Star Break goes, every game after that, it increases 1-2 minutes. Because you only play about 25-30 games after the All-Star Break,” he said.
“By the end of the regular season, he’s up to 34-35, which that’s kind of what you’d want, and then you’d hope he’s in good enough shape come playoff time, when the level goes through the roof, that he’s ready to go. But I need him healthy in the end, and he hasn’t shown that he can do that, so keep him on the minutes restriction (for now),” explained Miller.
Will a minutes restriction even help? It’s hard to say right now, because Embiid still can’t stay in the lineup for any significant stretch. Both George and his contracts are essentially untradable, so although the future is bright with Maxey and Edgecombe, the Sixers are caught between two eras without an easy way to leave the past behind.
