Sixers star Joel Embiid saying goodbye to back-to-backs?

After another early playoff exit where Embiid dealt with an injury, this time to his left knee, the Philadelphia 76ers star center texted team president Daryl Morey, "We got to do whatever it takes to make sure that in the postseason I'm healthy."

"Whatever it takes" started with Embiid losing weight this summer, reportedly 25-30 pounds. The team is also holding Embiid out of all of their preseason games in hopes of managing his balky knee. And it appears that playing in back-to-back games is off the table for the big man.

Embiid told ESPN, "If I had to guess, I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career."

That's big news ahead of a season where Philadelphia is scheduled to play on back-to-back nights 15 times. If he's missing 15 games already, it's very unlikely that Embiid can hit the 65-game threshold to become eligible for NBA awards and honors, like the All-NBA team.

Embiid isn't the only Sixer that the team is planning to load manage. Morey suggested that their big free agent signing, Paul George, would also sit on back-to-backs. That means the team will lean heavily on backup center Andre Drummond, the self-proclaimed "best rebounder ever," along with reserves Eric Gordon and Kyle Lowry, who are 35 and 38 years old, respectively.

The Sixers are rolling the dice a bit with this rest plan. They're relying on Guerschon Yabusele, who's been out of the NBA for five years, along with rookie Jared McCain and second-year win Ricky Council IV.

But it appears that Philadelphia is willing to sacrifice regular season wins in order to have the healthiest possible playoff roster. Its veterans are also sacrificing personal accolades, and the team as a whole might be writing off its chances at home-court advantage for the playoffs.

If it gives the Sixers a healthy Embiid in the spring for the first time in five years, the gamble will pay off. It's good news for 76ers fans, who haven't seen their team get past the second round in 23 years. Unless they bet the over on the team's wins (51.5 as of Monday).