The Sixers are off to a hot start, sitting in second place in the East with a 10-3 record heading into Friday’s slate of games, but star center Joel Embiid far from satisfied with the team’s game, he believes Sixers reporter Keith Pompey.
“We have a long way to go” Embiid said. “Obviously, offensively and defensively, we are not where we want to be. But, you know, a pretty good start; I think it’s really fascinating that we all feel like we’re not even close to what we should be doing. We just have to keep getting better.”
While the Sixers’ defense has been very good to start the season, they were ranked just 24th in scoring offense entering Thursday’s game against the Raptors. According to ESPN’s Chris Rome, that’s partly due to the difficulty Embiid has had in finding his place in the new-look offense (Link to video on Twitter).
Embiid is currently averaging career lows in points per game (17.9), field goal percentage (37.4%), three-pointers (11.1%) and free throws per game (7.3), and Rome notes that in the preseason the former MVP rejected the notion that the Sixers’ talented starting lineup will have to sacrifice in order to succeed.
We have more from the Sixers:
- LeBron James“the impact on the 76ers roster was unmistakable early in the season, Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice.com writes in an article about how the team found out that James was coming to Philadelphia. Sophomore guard Caleb Love described what it’s like to have a player who many consider the greatest of all time play alongside him. “You want to raise your level– said Love, –because you play with one of the greats and you want to stay smart and you want to be on the same level as far as your work is concerned.” Another young player, a beginner Labron Filon the youngerspoke of the value of learning from the greatest man. “Collecting the things they do, what they have in their routine, and how they spend their day,” Philo said. “Distance learning is a really great thing, but definitely asking questions. I feel like I just want to pick up what they’re doing during the day and (I) can carry that into my future career.”
- 7’6″ center Thank you, autumn grateful to be a fan favorite, but he says the “we want Takko” chants he hears from the home crowd are something of a mixed blessing, Aaronson writes. “I appreciate it – very much. Obviously, I think it’s all love. People want to see me play. Obviously, I haven’t played in a long time – they haven’t seen me in a long time.” – said autumn. “There’s a level of excitement that comes with it. But the flip side of it … it looks more like a foster kid, a kid who makes a wish, only gets a couple minutes at the end. What, I’m more than that. Especially now. I’m just a pretty good basketball player. So it’s a controversial (part).”
- The highly touted Sixers vs Jaylen BrownThe former team delivered a stunning win over the Celtics this week and showed just how far the Sixers are from where they want to be. Jay King and Tony Jones write for The Athletic. Despite the reality check, the team doesn’t overreact, Gina Mizell writes for the Philly Inquirer. “We are still learning from each other and learning to play with each other“, Dean Wade said. “It’s going to take games like this and a few bad stretches to mold us a little better and make us a little tougher. So we are growing and there are growing challenges.”
