Joel Embiid Explains Team USA Struggles: 'It Takes Me a Couple of Games to Get Going'

Although Monday's 92-88 victory over Germany in the final exhibition game before the Olympics was maybe closer than expected for Team USA, there were some reasons for optimism moving forward.

Those reasons included an impressive showing from Joel Embiid.

"People who watch me know that every season know that it takes me a couple of games to get going and this is no different," Embiid said after the game, per ESPN's Brian Windhorst. "That's the reason we've got preseason games. I feel like myself and I'm going to keep going and I'm going to be playing at that MVP level I've played for the last five or six seasons."

The Philadelphia 76ers star missed the end of last season because of injury and, as Windhorst wrote, "started slowly coming out of training camp showing rust and looking out of shape" for the Americans.

However, he delivered with 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists against Germany.

He also had quite the chasedown block to set up an Anthony Edwards dunk in one of the most thrilling sequences of the contest:

While Embiid's slower, more methodical style of play seemed to be something of an issue for the Americans during the early exhibition games, he fit in seamlessly during Monday's win and looked much more like the version of himself who consistently dominates in the NBA.

Team USA has no shortage of impact bigs with Embiid, Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo, but it will need all of them dialed in since all it takes is five fouls to foul out in these international games. Davis found himself in foul trouble in Monday's contest, and Embiid picked up the slack with an excellent showing.

Ultimately, LeBron James bailed out the Red, White and Blue by taking over in crunch time, but Embiid showed flashes of how effective he can be during the Paris Games.