Philadelphia 76ers Can't Ignore Their Growing Joel Embiid Problem
Can a season-opening win be both buoying and deflating? I'm asking for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Their 117-116 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday revealed a whole bunch of good and intriguing developments, beginning with VJ Edgecombe going kaboom. It also left them, and me, and you, and everyone everywhere, wondering just what the heck is going on with Joel Embiid.
The 31-year-old looked like a shell of himself through a little over 20 minutes of action. Social media was ablaze with video receipts, and more critically, questions about his left knee, his future and Philly's overall outlook as a result.
Any concerns and observations must be couched with the "It's only one game" caveat. Yet when that one game aligns with longstanding unease, we'd be remiss if we didn't acknowledge it. The Sixers should already be on tilt.
Embiid Just Had One Of His Worst Games Ever
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Embiid finished Wednesday night with four points on 1-of-9 shooting from the floor. This marks the second-lowest scoring total for his career during a game in which he logged at least 20 minutes.
Oh, and his 16.8 true shooting percentage (you're reading that correctly) is also the third worst of his career—number of minutes played be damned.
More alarmingly, the Sixers lost Embiid's court time by a total of 16 points. Sure, he has turned in worse plus-minus performances over the course of his career. But this is the first time Philly was minus-16 or worse with him in the game when he played under 21 minutes.
Embiid Struggled Just as Much on Tape as on Paper
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Invoking the good ol' eye test as a potential foil for box-score dorks accomplishes…absolutely nothing.
Embiid's performance versus the Celtics looked as bad on tape as it does on paper. It seemed as if he could barely jump. There was hardly any movement from him, on or off the ball.
Never mind getting a single attempt at the rim. All nine of his shots came outside of the paint.
Boston effectively didn't care who it put on him, because he couldn't capitalize:
Sticking smaller players on Embiid used to be considered taboo. Even if he was outside the paint, he could muster the pizzazz to create space on the perimeter or power his way to the basket.
That part of his arsenal was nowhere to be found against the Celtics.
Nick Nurse Did NOT Have Embiid on the Floor in Crunch Time
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Sixers head coach Nick Nurse went with Dominick Barlow over Embiid down the stretch.
Raise your hand if you expected to see that happen this season. Or ever.
Embiid is working his way back from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee over the summer. That is a factor in his overall minutes. Still, you'd expect the player who's supposed to be the franchise cornerstone to be on the floor when you're trying to collect a victory.
The sight of not seeing Embiid in crunch time was jarring. Even more unsettling, though, is knowing that keeping him on the bench was clearly the right decision.
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Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe Will Have to Carry Philly...
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As Embiid attempts to work himself into form and Paul George recovers from a knee injury, the Sixers won't just need more out of Tyrese Maxey. They'll need another marquee contributor to emerge from the ranks.
So, VJ Edgecombe.
Expecting rookies to serve as viable co-stars out of the gate is a tall order no matter where they're drafted. If Game No. 1 is any indication, Edgecombe is up to the task.
The 20-year-old dropped 30 points, the third-most ever in an NBA debut. His default mode appears to be fearlessness. He has no qualms about firing off threes (5-of-13 versus Boston) or attacking in transition. His cuts to the basket are posters waiting to happen.
Equally impressive, Edgecombe knew when to pull back on the throttle, like when Maxey ripped off 19 second-quarter points. That balance worked both ways. Maxey was content to move into the backdrop when Edgecombe fried the Celtics defense for 10 straight points.
These two aren't just Philly's future. For the time being, they're the Sixers' present, too.
...but the Sixers Eventually Need Embiid to Reach a Sustainable Peak
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One game is not enough to altogether write off Embiid's star power. He has always needed time to reacclimate himself when returning from injuries and surgeries. This may be no different.
Let's also not forget he looked pretty good in his lone preseason appearance against the Minnesota Timberwolves. This is not someone who's consigned to operating at a perma-nadir.
Completely ignoring what we just watched would nevertheless be foolish.
Pretty much everyone has collectively decided Embiid will never appear in enough games to contend for MVP awards ever again. This performance hints at the possibility he never even plays at that level again.
Shrug it off if you must. Maybe that proves to be the smart play. But when his number of appearances are going to be inherently limited, every one of them counts. He will not always have a ton of runway to work himself into form. The days of him playing in longer bursts during individual games could be over, too.
Philly better hope that it isn't, or that Embiid figures out how to thrive amid shifting court time and usage. Maxey and Edgecombe can carry the Sixers toward high-octane Nirvana for now. Eventually, however, the team will need a more deliberate and overpowering force, as well as a defensive anchor.
Embiid is supposed to be that guy. For so long, he has been. Whether he still can be, even in dribs and drabs, is officially up for debate.
Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
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