Embiid Shines in Preseason Loss to Wizards

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

https://twitter.com/Spark_Sports_/status/786723143431839744

Washington 100, Philadelphia 79 – Box Score

With a goal of 20-24 minutes by the start of the regular season, Philadelphia announced before Thursday night’s preseason game that Joel Embiid would be bumped up from 12 to 15 minutes. Sixers fans were grateful for the extra few minutes, because whenever the big man was on the court, the game was must-see TV, while the other 30-plus minutes made you wish the broadcast was once again untelevised.

Embiid showed off the whole arsenal on his way to a double-double in 14 minutes of play, recording 11 points and 12 rebounds, to go along with 1 steal and 1 block. For the second straight contest, he repeatedly earned his way to the charity stripe, going 7-8 from the foul line. If he continues to draw fouls in this manner, it would be impossible for him to be an inefficient player offensively.

Defensively, Embiid is quick enough to switch onto guards and hold his own. He also serves as a deterrent to any opposing driver venturing into the lane; in the rare instances when they still put a shot up, Embiid’s incredible length and instinctive timing will often erase the damage. With each passing minute, JoJo is proving Brett Brown’s “crown jewel” comments to be more than accurate. Some Sixers fans in attendance serenaded him with chants of MVP and Trust the Process. The game was in Washington.

And on yeah, Embiid set out to show Ben Simmons and Dario Saric aren’t the only big men on the roster capable of leading a break.

BIG 🏃🏾 MAN 🏃🏾 RUNNIN 🏃🏾 POINT https://t.co/yA932OzNBj

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 13, 2016

Even though the Sixers were struggling in the first half, Embiid’s exit after halftime was when Washington really blew things open with a 38-24 in the third quarter. The main problem was the disparity in outside shooting between the two clubs. The Sixers shot 4-30 from three, lowlighted by 1-8 and 0-5 efforts from Robert Covington and Sergio Rodriguez. Meanwhile, Bradley Beal drained more threes than the Sixers by himself, hitting 5 of 6 on his way to a game-high 22 points.

The game off Tuesday didn’t help Dario Saric regain his stroke, as he went 1-8 from the field, including 0-3 from three. He did have a couple nice sequences, including one where Saric went coast-to-coast after grabbing the rebound and earned a trip to the foul line. Still, Saric himself admitted he still had some room to adjust to the NBA game, and we may have gotten ahead of ourselves with dark horse Rookie of the Year talk after the first couple games.

One guy who didn’t struggle scoring for the Sixers was Jerami Grant, who shot 6-10 from the field for a team-high 14 points. Grant has shot very well all preseason, and while the talk of him playing small forward seemed suboptimal, if it led to him figuring something out with his stroke, it’s all for the best. Is this the year Grant unlocks the missing piece to his game that was his outside shot? Early returns look promising.

Among end of the roster guys, Cat Barber and Brandon Paul stood out in limited action. Barber went 2-4 for 4 points in 6 minutes, which certainly isn’t much in the big picture, but he stood out for how much quicker he is than the Sixers’ other guards. I wouldn’t mind if Barber received more of an extended look. Paul drained a couple long jumpers, including 1 three, for 5 points in 9 minutes. He has impressed whenever he has received time this preseason; the injury that caused him to miss some time might have cost him his chance to really move the needle though.

The Sixers have two more preseason games with which to sort out all the roster and rotation decisions. The penultimate exhibition game takes place Saturday night in Philadelphia against the Pistons.