December 18, 2016
Without Nerlens Noel, the Sixers took on the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night in South Philly in what figured to be their second very winnable home game of the weekend. And while much of the talk before the game centered (pun intended) on the big man sitting on the bench, the action on the floor was dominated by another member of the Sixers frontcourt.
Joel Embiid.
“The Process” scored a career-high 33 points to go with 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals in 27 minutes as the Sixers defeated the Nets, 108-107. He even went head-on into the first row on one occasion:
.................And he's okay! #SixersTalk pic.twitter.com/9eCZlcFMQC
— CSN Philly (@CSNPhilly) December 19, 2016
"Like I've been saying, I'm going to give my all every time I'm on the court," Embiid said. "And that's what I think I've been doing, just play hard. One thing A.I. kind of helped me with that. He was like, 'Play it's like it's your last game' and that's what I think I've been doing."
(Quick rant: Love that effort, but I would tell Embiid to at least cut out the kamikaze dives into the stands. One possession isn’t worth completely risking your health, especially on the plays you have little chance of actually converting. You don’t need to play like Aaron Rowand when your talent level is closer to Mike Trout. End rant.)
Here’s some else of what I saw:
• The way that the big man rotation shook out is Embiid and Jahlil Okafor playing together for about five minutes at the beginning of each half, Embiid subbing out, and then they would alternate at center for the rest of the half. Embiid finished the game as a +7 and Okafor ended up a -9, which felt about right.
Even with Noel on the bench, the rotation still feels a bit unbalanced. Starting the two centers together meant that Dario Saric (at the 3) and Ersan Ilyasova (at the 5) would play out of position at different points when they were paired together.
• Okafor fought hard for 11 rebounds in 28 minutes, but he had a miserable night offensively, shooting 0-10 from the field.
• When it came down to it, the Sixers won this game because they were able to get stops. After allowing 86 points through three quarters, they held the Nets to 21 in the fourth.
• Embiid might have played his best game as a pro. He posted up for baskets. He hit face-up jumpers. He made a couple of huge threes out of the pick-and-pop. He blocked shots. He made the right rotations. He was terrific.
Brook Lopez also played well, finishing with 22 points, 9 boards, and 8 assists, some of which came against Embiid. But the Sixers third-year rookie was the best player on the floor.
• With the win, the Sixers improved to 7-20 on the season. There are three other teams (Brooklyn, Dallas, and Minnesota) with the same win total.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
