The Philadelphia 76ers‘ first back-to-back of the season is upon us. The Sixers will host Cleveland tonight before heading south to Orlando, where former No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz and the Magic await. It’s our first glimpse at how Brett Brown and Co. will handle condensed schedules.
Last season, the Sixers were happy to let Joel Embiid rack up minutes and games played, especially early in the season. The end result was less than desirable — Embiid was either sick or hurt for much of Philadelphia’s second-round loss to Toronto.
In such a narrow defeat, it’s reasonable to presume a healthy Embiid could have tipped the scales in the Sixers’ favor.