The Philadelphia 76ers ' success has always hinged on Joel Embiid's health and availability. In the years during which he misses significant time due to injuries, it typically spells disaster for the Sixers. When Embiid played 19 games last season, the Sixers won 24 games. Two seasons ago, when he appeared in 39 games, Philly limped to a seventh-place finish and suffered a first-round playoff exit to the Knicks .

This year, Embiid is on a minutes restriction and is averaging a career low in points (17.8) and rebounds (5.4) and is shooting the ball worse than he ever has at 42.3% from the floor. Despite that, Philadelphia has managed to start the season 5-3 and possesses the second-best offense in the league.

In any other year, if Embiid was performing that inefficiently, the Sixers

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