Six preseason games came and went for the Philadelphia 76ers. None of them featured lead actor Joel Embiid.

While the big man's absence is usually a concern, the Sixers made it clear that there would be a strict management plan in place to maximize Embiid's chances of making the playoffs healthy.

Embiid is currently not known to be dealing with a setback, but his status for Wednesday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks was in question after the team ruled him out for the entire preseason two weeks ago.

On Tuesday, the team confirmed Embiid's official injury report status for the opener.

At the start of the game, the Sixers will list Embiid as out. His status isn't all that surprising considering the Sixers have taken a particularly cautious approach so far this season.

On Media Day 2024, Embiid made it clear that he isn't even thinking about the NBA award race. Reaching the 65 game minimum is no longer the priority it once was. Although he managed to do so in two of the last three seasons, a knee injury last year derailed Embiid's progress. He appeared in fewer than 40 games, not counting the playoffs.

This season, an effort will be made to give Embiid as much rest as possible while maintaining his MVP level of play when he's on the court. The Sixers stuck to their plan early on and kept Embiid out of scrimmage action in training camp and preseason.

Some believed that the regular season would have been possible for Embiid. However, this is not the case. With the Sixers this week, the big man will increase his on-court activities, including scrimmaging. He will be re-evaluated this weekend.