Embiid’s limits will no longer be announced
CAMDEN, N.J. >> There will be nights this season, as there have been in every season that he has been active, that Joel Embiid will have his playing time restricted as a concession to sports science.
The difference this year: The Sixers will not make that public.
According to Sixers communications vice-president Dave Sholler Tuesday, the decision to hide that information was made for, among other concerns, “competitive reasons.” Unspoken yet clear in that announcement is that the Sixers believe that announcing that Embiid’s minutes limits could allow opposing coaches to adjust accordingly.
Thus, the only way to conclude that any Sixer had been on a medically recommended time limit this season will be to make a forensic study of the post-game boxscore.
Brett Brown, who had previously announced that he would no longer discuss injuries of any sort, was not particularly certain that such muffled information will yield significant coaching value.
“I don’t think so,” Brown said. “Because lots of times, I didn’t do it. You sort of went out and spoke as transparently and honestly as you could with the information that was given to me. And I don’t feel that if somebody heard Joel was going to play 28 minutes that there was any competitive advantage lost.”
The Sixers will open their regular season at 7:30 Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center against the Boston Celtics.
No Sixers were on the official NBA injury report Tuesday evening.
As for the length of Embiid’s availability, ever a topic?
“He is listed as ‘available,’” said Sholler, who will make all injury announcements this season. “And we will manage him thoughtfully and strategically.”
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With the Sixers facing the Celtics in Game 1, it didn’t take Brown long to access a new scouting resource: Al Horford, who played the last three seasons in Boston.
“It’s interesting to listen to Al about some of the thoughts he has, whether it’s offensively or defensively,” Brown said. “I asked him to share that with me and the team.”
Horford was happy to provide the help.
“I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page,” he said.
“All the guys know the magnitude of the game, the rivalry and everything. I am new on this side, obviously. So I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page with the things we need to do, and just come out and compete. It’s going to be a fun game.”
The Sixers won 51 games last season, the Celtics 49. Both teams made offseason changes in personnel and style, with the Sixers going big and Boston trending toward a speed game on offense.
“In my opinion, Boston doesn’t get attention they should,” Brown said. “They have a bunch of dangerous scorers. They really have a bunch of dangerous scorers. They could play some zone, which could hurt us.
“Are they going to double-team Joel every time? That could hurt us. But that’s stuff we talked about and we practiced. We’re not going to get caught off-guard. How we react to it is an entirely different story.”
The Sixers insist they are up for a challenge.
“Two teams ready to get after it,” Mike Scott said. “It’s not going to be sexy. It’s not going to be smooth. It’s always going to be a hard-fought game. And those are the games I like.”
Though only October, one Sixers-Celtics game could have meaningful tie-breaking implications for the postseason.
“We’re just looking the one game,” Ben Simmons said after practice. “We can’t look too far beyond that.”
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There were exactly zero surprises when the Sixers formally announced their Opening Night roster Tuesday.
Including two-way-contracted Norvel Pelle and Marial Shayok, there will be nine newcomers on the 17-man roster since last year. First-year players on the 15-man roster include Matisse Thybulle, Kyle O’Quinn, Trey Burke, Raul Neto, Josh Richardson and Horford.