1. Joel Embiid is Definitely a Rookie
Although Joel Embiid finished with a more-than serviceable stat line (6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks) in just under 13 minutes of play, it took him a little while to settle down.
Initially, his teammates were feeding him the ball in the high post, but Embiid appeared rushed and it looked like he was trying to do too much, too fast.
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In his first stint on the court (roughly four minutes), he turned the ball over three times and he missed his first three shot attempts. He appeared more poised during his second run and scored his first points on a turnaround jumper over Tyler Zeller (the shot looked very similar to the moves he’d been practicing in his Instagram videos).
He also had arguably the top defensive play of the night with a huge block on Celtics rookie Jaylen Brown.
Tuesday was a reminder that, while Embiid certainly has the tools to become an All-Star caliber NBA player, his success is not going to come overnight and he still has a way to go.
But boy, wasn’t it good to see him finally on the floor after two-plus injury-plagued years of being sidelined?