If the Philadelphia 76ers are going to win an NBA Championship with Joel Embiid, it has to come quickly.
With expectations at an all-time high heading into the start of the season, Joel Embiid has been ruled out for the entire pre-season slate. It's part of his new load management plan as he is working toward putting himself in the best position to pace himself through the regular season in hopes of getting to the NBA Playoffs healthy.
Considering how he's had to battle through injuries late in the season and in the NBA Playoffs over the last few seasons, it's hard to blame Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers for wanting to try something different.
This new load management plan for Embiid or "new normal" heading into the start of the regular season, could reveal something more about the Sixers' championship window - that it's probably quickly shrinking, even after the big moves they made this summer.
In the words of ESPN's Shams Charania, part of Embiid's "new normal" will include periodic time off, scheduled check-ups with doctors, and not participating in back-to-backs.
Joel Embiid's increasingly important load management plan
Whether you agree or disagree with a new load management plan for Embiid is irrelevant. That argument has left the station. It sounds like for the rest of his career, Embiid fully expects to be on some sort of load management plan moving forward. The real talking point here is how that will impact his career and the Sixers.
The Sixers are entering the season as a championship contender after the additions they made this offseason. But as has been the case the last few years for the Sixers, this is a team whose championship aspirations will live or die by the health of Embiid. And if Embiid and the training staff believe this "new normal" will help get him through the regular season and playoffs in one piece or relatively healthy, it's easy to see why it's considered to be an extremely important factor for the team heading into the start of the season.
I'm sure there are many who will brush off Embiid's decision to go all-in with this new load management plan, but if this is what's going to help him and the Sixers win an NBA Championship in the next couple of seasons, it's going to be hard to blame him.
One thing is for sure, though. It does seem as if Embiid is beginning to realize that his window to win an NBA Championship as the best player in Philadelphia is quickly shrinking. At 30 years old and already on what he expects to be a permanent load management plan, Embiid doesn't have much time to win a title with the Sixers.