December 20, 2024
Kyle Ross/Imagn Images
Joel Embiid is once again back in the fold for the Sixers, returning earlier than anticipated after suffering a sinus fracture.
The Sixers had not played a game in three days after Paul George, Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. led the team to a road victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night. They returned to their home floor for a Friday night matchup against the very same Hornets, the fourth matchup between the team in 40 days, ending their regular season series within the first 25 games of the season.
However, both teams looked quite a bit different this time around. For Charlotte, the team's three primary building blocks — All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball, rising star Brandon Miller and seven-footer Mark Williams — were all out of action. And, it turned out, the Sixers ended up having a fairly significant piece rejoin its ranks right in time for this one.
Everything broke right for the Sixers to win this game with ease, and in the first quarter they absolutely obliterated Charlotte with brilliant, balanced team offense. They found themselves in a bit of a buffer on that end of the floor in the second quarter, but still carried a 12-point lead into the break. After a few rough stretches in the second half, the Sixers were able to emerge victorious, thanks in large part to Embiid's terrific scoring efforts after halftime.
Here is what stood out from the Sixers' 108-98 victory over the Hornets on Friday:
Embiid was expected to miss both legs of the Sixers' back-to-back on Friday and Saturday, but extremely positive news emerged following the team's Thursday practice: Embiid, who suffered a sinus fracture seven days prior during a loss to the Indiana Pacers, had progressed quicker than expected and would be listed as questionable for Friday's game.
Generally speaking, Embiid being upgraded from out to questionable is a telltale sign that he is going to play in a game. And it held true on Friday, as the former NBA MVP was indeed made available for the Sixers. Embiid sported a mask.
Starting alongside Embiid: Maxey, Oubre, George and KJ Martin.
Embiid, who has never enjoyed playing with a mask on, looked a bit shaky in the game's opening possessions. He knocked down two terrific mid-range looks which are typically automatic for him. But then he got going thanks to a drive and dish from George, which freed him up for an easy layup. On the next play, he converted a tough and-one in the paint, then casually stepped into a trail three:
8⃣ early points already from @JoelEmbiid#NBAAllStar | 🗳️ https://t.co/MkbjLhxMAC pic.twitter.com/rLwVwGc8jH
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 21, 2024
It was not just Embiid who carried the load early, but his mere presence made things a whole lot easier for the rest of the Sixers. Maxey knocked down four early triples, and two of them came thanks to brilliant execution on two-man actions between Maxey and Embiid:
a little two man game. 🤌 pic.twitter.com/K53ngkFJIr
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 21, 2024
Also getting in on the fun was Oubre, who knocked down two threes from the same corner — both thanks to George assists — and collected a pair of assists of his own.
George only made one shot — the nine-time All-Star knocked down a triple thanks to an offensive rebound from Martin, who also had two early steals — but George still had a major impact on the game in its first 10 minutes. He grabbed four contested rebounds and dished out four assists.
In a bit of a surprise, one of the Sixers' first two substitutions of the night was Ricky Council IV, and he gave the Sixers the exact sort of jolt head coach Nick Nurse always hopes to get from the second-year undrafted wing. Right before knocking down a corner triple for the Sixers' final basket of the opening frame, Council used a gorgeous in-and-out move to shake a defender in transition and throw down a two-handed tomahawk slam. The reaction from rookie center Adem Bona was pretty good, too:
Air Ricky! ✈️ pic.twitter.com/hq5DOUTI8Z
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 21, 2024
Meanwhile, Maxey led the Sixers' close to the first quarter with yet another triple and an and-one at the rim, bringing his total to 15 points by the end of the first quarter. After a dozen minutes, the Sixers led Charlotte, 41-23.
It has been a struggle for Yabusele recently, as the 29-year-old saw his playing time dwindle over a three-game period entering this one. Yabusele averaged just over 15 minutes per game during that stretch and only made two baskets. He quickly matched that total during his first stint, in which he scored four points, collected five rebounds and added an assist. Three of his five early boards came on the offensive glass, and one of them enabled his first bucket:
Yabu through the contact. 💪 pic.twitter.com/Y3CzIjEloq
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 21, 2024
Yabusele played six minutes and change in his first stint, spanning the final two minutes of the first quarter to close to the midway point of the second quarter. For the first four minutes or so, Yabusele played at power forward alongside veteran center Andre Drummond. For two minutes, he slid up to center before being replaced by Embiid.
The Sixers offense was riding high off its 41 points in the first quarter, but then came a major cold stretch. The Sixers only scored six points in the first seven-plus minutes of the second quarter, allowing Charlotte to stick around rather than putting the Hornets away and setting the stage for a 48-minute, stress-free game.
Just as he has time and time again of late, Oubre provided a nice boost at the perfect time — with Embiid to thank. First, Oubre found a lane to cut the basket and received a nice dish from Embiid for a layup, and on the Sixers' next possession, Embiid assisted Oubre's third triple of the half — once again from the right corner:
Embiid with the feed to Oubre after pulling Cody Martin's attention away
— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) December 21, 2024
That's 15 points for Oubre so far tonight against his former team. pic.twitter.com/RpEWcncYou
For this week's Friday film, I performed a deep dive into Oubre's terrific play during the month of December and broke down five ways in which the veteran swingman has altered his approach on both ends of the floor to find the best version of himself:
MORE: Oubre film breakdown
Nurse keeps deciding to stick with the 38-year-old floor general in a limited reserve role, which is not the end of the world. But Lowry has continually failed to prove that he is actually capable of scoring in more than a one-off, and the complete absence of explosion in Lowry's game makes it difficult to stomach using him as a nightly rotation piece.
In just over six minutes of action in the first half, Lowry did not score or attempt a shot and committed three fouls. Whether he is anything more than a situational piece at this stage of his career seems very much up for debate.
Lowry's minutes contributed to the Sixers' significant offensive slump in the second quarter, but even after scoring just 17 points in the quarter as a team, the Sixers held a 58-46 lead over Charlotte at intermission.
Hornets head coach Charles Lee was forced to call a timeout after two minutes and 57 seconds of play in the third quarter, because his team had zero answers for Embiid after holding him to only two points in the second quarter. The Sixers opened the third quarter on a 15-4 run in the first four and a half minutes, and Embiid scored or assisted on the first 13 of their points during that stretch.
Embiid knocked down an early three and then dished out yet another assist to Oubre for a triple.
Sixers looking to get back on track from long range after a 1-for-8 3PT Q2, kick off the second half with back-to-back triples. pic.twitter.com/fMGwxk994D
— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) December 21, 2024
While Embiid was able to find a scoring groove, the Sixers' run was ultimately punctuated by a dazzling alley-oop from Maxey to Martin.
showtime! 💥🎥 pic.twitter.com/LP7piEyf28
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 21, 2024
Close friends off the court, Maxey and Martin have put together a strong two-man game this season, and moments after this play, an impressive swat from the fifth-year forward led to a transition bucket for the fifth-year guard:
defense into offense. 👏 pic.twitter.com/frjAc3iQGF
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 21, 2024
Time and time again, the 23-year-old Martin is proving to be deserving of significant playing time. His athleticism and defensive versatility are huge assets for Nurse and the Sixers.
MORE: Maxey, Martin talk two-man game
Because Maxey played the entire third quarter and Embiid needed to rest in preparation for a possible crunch time situation, Nurse had to stick with the struggling George as his lone star to begin the fourth quarter. But even with that being the case, Nurse's five-man unit to open the fourth quarter was a questionable one — and the lineup was shredded for four-plus minutes:
Sixers' lineup during this stretch was questionable, even while acknowledging they needed to begin the quarter without Embiid or Maxey.
— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) December 21, 2024
Nurse went with Lowry, Gordon, Council IV, George and Yabusele. https://t.co/1NgZCxMf38
In particular, the decision to have Lowry and Eric Gordon share the floor was questionable — neither one has on-ball scoring juice, and both can be exploited as defenders when facing players with superior athleticism.
Embiid and Oubre returned to the game in place of Gordon and Council, with Maxey following them soon after and replacing Lowry. The Sixers were finding a groove, and while Martin returned to the action to replace Yabusele eventually, an Embiid steal enabled this massive Yabusele poster slam:
GUERSCHON YABUSELE. 😱 pic.twitter.com/L8tGDPgqCP
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 21, 2024
Embiid was able to take over from there, torching any and every coverage the Hornets threw at him to put the game away and secure his third 30-plus-point game of the season. Embiid was brilliant all night offensively, and chipped in with some critical defensive plays, too.
The Sixers are 9-16. Can this version of Embiid carry them up the steep hill they must climb?
Up next: The Sixers will get right back to work on Saturday night, facing the NBA-best Cavaliers in Cleveland in the second leg of their back-to-back.
