Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is out for Friday night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets due to left knee injury management, per Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports.

The 2022-23 MVP missed the first six games of the season due to maintenance on his surgically repaired left knee. He was out for another three games due to a suspension for shoving a reporter in the locker room.

Before the season tipped off, Embiid and the Sixers signaled that the team would be even more proactive in handling his workload in an effort to keep him healthy for the playoffs.

The plan made sense in theory because Philadelphia needs the seven-time All-Star at his best in the postseason to have a realistic path to a championship. However, his absence early on pointed to one risk with the strategy.

By the time Embiid made his debut on Nov. 12, the Sixers had dropped seven of their first nine games. It became eight out of 10 when Embiid wasn’t enough to help Philly avoid a 111-99 defeat to the New York Knicks. The fact he’s not playing back-to-backs then left the team short-handed in a 114-106 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers the following night.

Signing Paul George was supposed to give the 76ers a bit of a buffer when Embiid is out of the lineup. However, George also missed the start of the year and is on a similar plan in terms of load management.

How Philadelphia fares in the playoffs will be the ultimate barometer for how this year is judged. Maybe everything is clicking for the Sixers once April rolls around.

For now, a lot of the excitement coming out of the summer has probably dissipated in the City of Brotherly Love.