Brett Brown deserves some credit for Philadelphia 76ers success

Load management

This phrase has become clickbait in a way, but load management is very relevant to the Philadelphia 76ers. Signing Al Horford gave the team a safety valve; no longer would coach Brett Brown have to worry about the 5 spot when Joel Embiid sat.

It was definitely a big reason why he played so much early last season. For over a month he led the league in minutes played, likely because he (and Brown) didn’t feel comfortable with the other options.

That obviously took its toll. Embiid missed 14 of the last 24 games down the stretch. Those were crucial games to miss and set the team back in terms of cohesion. One could argue they didn’t really start to click until Game 3 of the Toronto series; not exactly a winning formula.

Last season he started each of the first 26 contests, averaging 34.3 minutes a night. This season, he has played in 21 of the team’s 26 games, and has only eclipsed 34 minutes in five of them. He’s only played two full sets of back-to-backs, likely on demand from Brown and Brand.

On the nights Embiid has sat, Horford slides to the 5. Horford and Embiid have effectively load managed each other. No game has excluded both, and when one is inactive, the other has played. It’s a nice balance.

Josh Richardson missed eight games with a hamstring issue, but Brown considered it precautionary, telling NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Serena Winters that he would have been available for most of those games if it were the playoffs.

The Sixers may not get the No. 1 seed in the East, but keeping everyone fresh is more important. Brown has been smart and careful early on.