Philadelphia 76ers Weekly Report: Embiid Debuts, Woes Continue

(Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)

Game 1: Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024

New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers

Final Score: NYK 111 – PHI 99

The Sixers had another star’s debut ruined, with Joel Embiid and the Sixers falling to their rival Knicks. They kept up for much of the game before being run over in the fourth. Embiid was obviously gassed by the end, and so far, his conditioning looks quite poor. He’s settling for a lot of jumpers, either afraid or unwilling to bang down low where he thrives. He was 2/11 for the game, and all of his misses but one were jumpers. The sole exception was a hook shot he threw up because he thought he was fouled. Every time he took it inside, he was fouled (8/8 on FT) or made the shot.  Suffice it to say he was not the savior the Sixers were hoping for.

Paul George had his best game as a Sixer, leading the team with 29 and going 7/11 from three to go with ten boards. Jared McCain also strengthened his rookie of the year case, scoring over 20 for the second time in a row. Caleb Martin also seemed to thrive with the attention George and Embiid create, scoring 17, his season high to that point. 

For the first time this season, the Sixers didn’t let the opposing best player cook them, with Jalen Brunson and Karl Anthony-Towns held to below-average shooting nights. That did leave OG Anunoby to put on a dunk contest, but hey, it’s something. The Knicks also out-rebounded the Sixers, which they’ve done often, and Josh Hart was a menace, delivering an efficient triple-double. Losing to the Knicks is not ideal, but they should be a contender this year, and it was Embiid’s debut. As we’ll see later, there are far worse losses.

 

Game 2: Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024

Cleveland Cavaliers at Philadelphia 76ers

Final Score: CLE 114 – PHI 106

As expected, Embiid and George both sat for the back-to-back, and without the Sixers’ three stars, going up against the undefeated Cavaliers was going to be near impossible. Through the heroics of McCain, though, it was a close game throughout. The Sixers even had a solid lead going into half. McCain was brilliant, scoring a game-high 34. He was 6/13 from deep and also had ten assists, which was a part of his game that was not supposed to be well-developed at all. So far, McCain has shown multiple skills beyond what he was drafted for and still kept the shooting.

Donovan Mitchell took over in the fourth, which players of his caliber often do, and the Cavs had no answer for either Cleveland guard. Darius Garland dropped 25 efficient points. The Cavs just have so many different guys that can hurt you, including a fairly deep bench.

Caleb Martin had another good game for the Sixers, making it two in a row, and hopefully, he is turning the corner. Beyond that, there’s not much to say. Given the season’s trajectory, this game was essentially a scheduled loss, and the Sixers lost. However, Jared McCain‘s continued excellence has been absolutely stunning.

 

Game 3: Friday, Nov. 15, 2024

Philadelphia 76ers at Orlando Magic

Final Score: ORL 98 – PHI 86

If there was ever a game to start slamming the panic button, this is the one. Most of the other losses have been excusable. Stars being out, back-to-backs, contending opponents. None of those applied here. The Magic were missing their best player in Paolo Banchero. The Sixers had everyone except Maxey, and with the emergence of McCain, basically had Maxey’s scoring anyway. 

Yet they still lost. Embiid and George were quite bad. George had some positives, with five assists and four steals, he just could not finish inside for the life of him. Embiid looked much closer to normal Embiid in the first half. He was going at the rim with more aggression and played back to the basket on a few possessions. Embiid still had a number of jumpers mixed in, but there was a much greater effort to get shots inside as well. Then the wheels fell off. Embiid went 0/7 in the second half, missing jumper after jumper. Combined, George and Embiid were 9/30 for 33 points. 

Meanwhile, McCain was the star again. He led the team with 29, shooting 10/17 and 5/10 from three. He kept them afloat in the third and scored most of the non-garbage time points in the fourth as well. A rookie was the best Sixer by a mile, meanwhile two max guys were often actively detrimental. Scoring 86 in today’s NBA is putrid, and it’s incredibly concerning. 

Of course, the Sixers haven’t played with all three of Maxey, Embiid, and George yet. They shouldn’t need all three to win games, especially against the Magic sans Banchero. They’ve had multiple losses with different combinations of two, even with McCain’s breakout. The Sixers will still probably finish in a playoff spot, and making it their healthy is all they really need to do. The margin for error is quickly running out, though, with a pretty terrible 2-10 start.

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Patrick Yen is a contributor on Back Sports Page.  He has written for NBC, SB Nation and a few more websites in his journalism career. He has been the Back Sports Page beat writer for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Patrick, a graduate from the Ohio State University, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but moved to Columbus, Ohio early in his life and has lived there ever since. You can find more of Patrick on Twitter @pyen117.