Source: MBID's participation will be investigated

The NBA will likely open an investigation into All-NBA center Joel Embiid's player involvement with the Philadelphia 76ers later this week, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

Embiid has not played in the preseason due to what the team called left knee injury management and will miss three games this week — Wednesday's season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks, Friday against the Toronto Raptors and Sunday against the Indiana Pacers.

According to the player participation policy, it is normal for the NBA to review a team any time a superstar player misses a nationally televised game.

The 76ers said Embiid is “responding well to his personalized plan” and will ramp up his return-to-play activities this week, including going through scrimmages.

It's part of the new normal for Embiid this season, according to sources, a strategy to keep the former NBA MVP healthy for the postseason. The plan is expected to include periodic vacations during the regular season and routine evaluations of doctors and the 76ers medical staff, those sources said.

Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey told ESPN's Tim Bontemps earlier this month that Philadelphia will try to keep both Embiid and Paul George away from back-to-backs this season.

“We're going to be smart about it. Part of being smart about it is having both Pauls [George] And Joel probably won't play many back-to-backs, if at all,” Morey said.

Embiid also told Bontemps that, “If I had to guess, I probably won't play back-to-backs for the rest of my career.”

Embiid has lost 25 to 30 pounds, hoping to lose more, and will continue to wear a brace on his left knee despite it being something he doesn't want to do, preferring instead to keep it structurally stable and protected as much as possible. .

Embiid played in just 39 games last season due to a knee injury. He returned in time to play against the New York Knicks in the playoffs, but did so at less than 100% — and that was before dealing with a sudden onset of Bell's palsy during the series. He went on to play for Team USA this summer, helping the Americans win their fifth straight gold medal at the Paris Olympics.