The Philadelphia 76ers returned home to the Wells Fargo Center following a tough night on Sunday where they fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road. They were missing star big man Joel Embiid in that game and they welcomed him back to the lineup and the big fella returned in a resounding way.
Embiid had himself a terrific night going for 29 points and 16 rebounds as he threw the Sixers on his back when they needed him the most in a 100-93 win over the Toronto Raptors. Tobias Harris had one of his better games in a Sixers uniform going for 26 points and 11 rebounds, Seth Curry had 17, and Ben Simmons had 11, 13 rebounds, and seven assists.
With that said, here are the three observations:
The Sixers continue to get off to these slow starts which is a bit surprising when one considers the talent they have surrounding Simmons and Embiid. The team found themselves down 41-28 before they finally kicked it into high gear and they tied at 48 before more sloppy play allowed Toronto to go on an 8-0 run over the span of 45.1 seconds to end the half. They then found themselves trailing by double digits again in the third quarter before Embiid got them back in it.
Again, that could be pointed to the fact that they have not played much together and they are a brand new team with a brand new system. Eventually, that will not be a valid excuse. They are going to have to figure it all out on the floor with this starting unit. Either they will move forward with this group or Rivers is going to have to make a change to give them a jolt.
The one real positive that can be taken from this game is how Embiid handled double teams. He was crisp with his passing, he made the right decision when to pass out, and he was forceful when the time called for it. It’s a shame that the Sixers missed so many open looks in this one or else that work would show up in the final box score.
The reason why this was impressive is due to the fact that it is Toronto. Sure, Marc Gasol is gone now, but Aron Baynes has a history of frustrating Embiid as well and Nick Nurse still coaches this team. It is important that he broke through against this specific team.
The Sixers brought in Curry to shoot the ball and provide spacing for their two stars. He does that just by being out there, but he’d be doing it a lot better if he would fire up the open looks given to him. That then seemed to have an effect on everybody as the Sixers were passing up on open looks in this one. The hesitation to take open looks probably points to them still earning what Doc Rivers wants from them on that end of the floor.
On the flip side, Curry is a career 44.3% shooter from deep. He is the one guy who cannot be hesitating when he catches the ball. Give him credit, he knocked down a big triple late in the game, but there should be no hesitation ever. He needs to put the ball up every time he catches it. That’s why the Sixers brought him in here. He needs to space the floor for the two stars so he needs to focus on that part of his game.
