Philadelphia allowed what would have been their first win in October or November since the 2013-14 season to slip away in the final quarter. However, through three games Joel Embiid is exceeding all expectations for the 76ers. When Embiid is out there, the Sixers are can’t-leave-your-seat, must-watch material. When he sits, Philly becomes a glorified NBA D-League team. This much will be obvious by the end of Wednesday’s matchup with Charlotte when Jahlil Okafor steps into the starting lineup and Embiid rests up. When Embiid is on the floor, his presence on defense is palpable and his offensive versatility undeniably evident.
Not since Allen Iverson has a Sixer rookie taken the league by storm in such a way, and Embiid’s epic rise has (hopefully) only just begun. So far “The Process” is averaging a juicy 17.3 points (45.9 FG, 40.0 3Pt, 76.2 FT), 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, 1.3 assists, and 0.3 steals in 20.7 minutes per bout.
On Saturday versus the Hawks, the refs repeatedly whistled Embiid for fouls (even when it appeared he was hosting clean block parties.) He spent most of the first half on the bench because of it, and the game was over early as a result. Atlanta and Oklahoma City are superior basketball squads, but Embiid brought the goods in both games. Rest assured, Steven Adams and Dwight Howard won’t soon forget the name. Jumping to Tuesday night’s tilt between the Magic and Sixers, Embiid committed his fair share of turnovers once again (averaging 3.7 per game), but he looked more comfortable passing out of the post than in the first two contests. The fact that he is already showing minor improvement in this area is an excellent sign that the sky really is the limit for the Cameroonian kid. Occasionally, Joel gets lost in one of his Dream Shake’s and get called for traveling, which happened on Philadelphia’s final offensive possession Tuesday. However, his flaws, such as dealing with double teams or bringing the ball down low unnecessarily, are all fixable. When things start to slow down for him, opposing teams better run for the hills and stay out of the paint—which Embiid has clearly marked as his own territory over the first three games at Wells Fargo Center.
With that being said, there are times when he needs to refer to the scouting report rather than instinct on defense. For example, he is vicious as a trapper in off-ball situations defensively—but sometimes he extends himself too far out in the pick-and-roll and allows a guy like Elfrid Payton to blow by him instead of giving him space and forcing him to take a shot that the Sixers can live with eight days a week. Philly added vets, but they’re still a very young team. They make a lot of mental mistakes and plenty of poor decisions on defense, giving guys like Evan Fournier room by going under screens and then pressing up on or going over screens on Payton. Speaking of Fournier, he beat Embiid for the game-tying bucket on a brilliant move, coming up clutch on a night when he didn’t shoot particularly well.
Tuesday’s game featured several agile big men with more shooting range and guard skills than some perimeter players in Embiid, Serge Ibaka, and Nik Vucevic, and another who fancies himself for his footwork but has built his identity on defense and rebounding in Bismack Biyombo. Biyombo took a bus, a train, and a plane on the way to an awkward fast-break dunk, which was one of the few travels missed on a night where the refs seemed to rediscover the rule (according to the crowd.)
Then there’s Aaron Gordon, who blessed the good people with a thrilling 360 aerial display in transition during the first half, no doubt a big man by definition, but of course the Magic are supposedly trying to develop him at the 3.
I say supposedly because Gordon was glued to the bench toward the end of the game so the Magic could play a three-guard lineup with Elfrid Payton, D.J. Augustin, and Evan Fournier joining Ibaka and Vucevic. Of course, this may have helped the Magic space the floor a little better and ultimately snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in a game that they trailed by nearly 20 points, but at what cost? What kind of confidence can Gordon gain at the 3 when coach Frank Vogel doesn’t trust him to close the contest? When you look at the Orlando Magic, they are exhibit A as to why I believe trading Jerami Grant for Ersan Ilyasova and a protected first-round pick was a solid trade for the Sixers.
Some folks are watching and wondering how much better they’d be if they just had Ben Simmons, but the problems that the Sixers have faced through the first three games would actually be magnified if Simmons were healthy to start the year. The usually reliable Robert Covington is shooting 18 percent from the field thus far, Dario Saric struggled badly in the first two games before breaking out against the Magic, and the Sixers are shooting 42 percent on the season while making seven three-pointers per night. That number will rise as Embiid starts launching more, which I suspect should happen soon since teams are still giving him that shot. Still, only seven Sixers have made a three this season, and Jerami Grant was not one of them. Despite being a big fan of Grant’s game, that jumper is a huge hurdle for him to clear if he hopes to stick with OKC. They already had enough spacing problems before making this swap. Grant’s impact on defense and in the hustle categories is great, his blocks barbarically beautiful—but Ilyasova can actually step into a lineup with Simmons, Saric, and Embiid and provide legitimate spacing on offense. Switch Ilyasova and Grant and the court shrinks two sizes too small.
The Grinch in Philly going forward is spacing, and the 76ers can ill-afford to waste a talent like Embiid by surrounding him with too many subpar outside shooters. If Covington can find a way out of this early-season funk that will help, but the Sixers will certainly be relying on Ilyasova to help these youngsters develop (at least in 2016-17). Currently, Segio Rodriguez and Hollis Thompson combine to average 3.0 out of the team’s 7.0 three-pointers per game. Orlando and OKC make up two of the nine teams currently below Philly in made treys per contest, which will be something to watch with all three of these teams going forward.
It’s impossible not to use the mid-90s Houston Rockets as the design model for these Sixers. By then, Clyde Drexler had added a serviceable outside shot to his repertoire, but they had a lot of great shooters in Kenny Smith, Mario Elie, and Robert Horry, just to name a few. Simmons is a unique talent that could be an incredible fit with Embiid, but the Sixers will have to build wisely around those two in order to maximize their abilities. If Saric is the second worst shooter on the floor behind Simmons that could be a recipe for success, especially if Covington proves to be the shooter from the past couple seasons instead of this recent version and Saric can replicate what we saw in Game 3 going forward.
If if’s were realities I’d have fifty-five-million dollars, but this Sixer team could be a couple pieces away from competing for the playoffs come next year. On the other hand, Orlando has no real pecking order in the frontcourt. They just paid top dollar for Biyombo to be a backup this year, Ibaka is a free agent next summer, and Vucevic is still under contract for a couple more years. Who knows if Ibaka will sign elsewhere or Vucevic will be dealt, or if both will be gone so Gordon can slide to the 4? The fact is that wins should not matter at this point for Orlando or Philly. Nevertheless, Frank Vogel did not trust the process last night. It resulted in a win, but at what cost? What did Orlando learn about themselves? The answer: less than Philadelphia.
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