Joel EmbiidMobility issues have been a dark cloud for the past week or so Sixers“hot start, but they didn’t seem to affect him in Thursday’s win over Toronto, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Embiid finished with 20 points and four rebounds in 28 minutes and even had a pair of dunks, a rarity for him this season.
“When he’s dribbling the basketball, he feels pretty good” coach Nick Nurse said. “He came up and blocked a shot. Then he started getting to the rim enough. He protected the rim enough to block some shots. I thought he did a lot of good things. But I think the best thing I saw was that he just moved a lot better tonight.”
Embiid’s health, specifically how many games he can play given his injury history, is the biggest question for a team loaded with talent after adding LeBron James and Jaylen Brown this summer. Center is the only position where Philadelphia lacks quality depth, and the situation has gotten worse Ariel Hookporti‘s torn Achilles as well as injury problems Adem Bono and Dominic Barlow. Jones claims Embiid lobbied the game even though he suffers from plantar fasciitis, which has contributed to his reduced mobility.
“I put a lot on myself” he said. “Honestly, I just wasn’t aggressive enough. So I think I just have to be aggressive about making plays, whether it’s scoring it or making plays for somebody else.”
There are more from Philadelphia:
- Jabari Walkera strong forward throughout his career, stepped in to help address the team’s central deficit, Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer states in the story for subscribers only. Walker talked about the strategy he uses when trying to fend off bigger opponents. “It’s a big task” he said. “You have to be earlier with your physicality.”
- Brown would like the team to give the 7’6″ more playing time Thank you, autumnwho appeared in just two games after missing the season opener with a left quadriceps strain, per ESPN’s Chris Rome (Link to Twitter). “We need more tall people” – said Brown. “It would be great to see Takko get a chance.”
- VJ Edgecombewho ranks second in the league in dunks can enter the Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend (Link to video on Twitter from the PHLY Sixers). “That’s what I’m probably thinking about,” he said after Thursday’s game.
