CAMDEN, N.J. -- Expect to see more of Joel Embiid.
As the regular season approaches, Brett Brown will begin increasing Embiid’s playing time for opening night.
“We’re playing it out,” Brown said after practice Monday. “I feel the numbers that we’ve thrown around are 20, 24. That’s where it is at the moment, but stuff becomes fluid.”
The Sixers have capped Embiid at 12 minutes so far in preseason action, and plan to do so for the fourth game on Tuesday against the Grizzlies.
Embiid could play nearly double those minutes in only two weeks, though. The team will begin lowering his restrictions before the regular-season opener against the Thunder.
“You’re going to start seeing a more increased minute timeframe so that we can deliver him to October the 26th,” Brown said. “I don’t know what that is going to be, but I know that is the plan. We’re not just going to sit on this and play 12 minutes, 12 minutes, then go into opening night and try to find him 20, 24 minutes. I think over the next period of time we’ll grow that so we can get to that level.”
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Embiid is playing his first NBA games after missing the previous two years with foot injuries. Brown has been using his allotted minutes in three- to four-minute spurts over the course of the first half.
Embiid is working to establish a flow in those segments. He is averaging 7.7 points (36.4 percent from the field) and 3.7 rebounds in his first three games.
“I see still where he’s trying to find his balance,” Brown said. “He wants to go do things quick, and he hasn’t played basketball for two-and-a-half years and he loses his balance or he rushes something.”
The 7-foot-2 big man is eager to develop. In addition to improving his shot selection, Embiid also wants to work on his body. He would like to drop from 275 pounds to under 270 for opening night through a healthy diet and more time on the court in games.
“I just want to play, keep getting better every day,” Embiid said. “Make mistakes, correct them, watch film, learn from those.”
