Sixers vs. Pacers: 3 takeaways from brutal loss in bubble opener

2. Joel Embiid, superstar

If there’s one person you can’t fault in this loss, it’s Joel Embiid, who was at his absolute best after playing just 12 minutes across three scrimmages in Orlando. Embiid looked perfectly up to speed, abusing the Pacers’ undersized and understaffed frontcourt. He scored 41 points, grabbed 21 rebounds, and blocked four shots for good measure.

The most impressive of those blocks was this gem…

If there’s a broader positive to take away here, it’s that Philadelphia won’t lose many games in which Embiid scores 41. The Pacers were an atypically favorable matchup, but Embiid is a top-10 player when he’s sharp. He was sharp in this one.

Embiid can bully his way to the rim against most teams, and he did a fairly good job of handling double teams in this game. He could stand to pass it more often, but the Sixers will take four turnovers juxtaposed to 41 points any day of the week.

On the night, Embiid registered a +21. He was of only two Sixers (Neto, +14) to register a positive plus-minus. The Sixers still collapse whenever Embiid sits. That’s a problem, especially when Horford is paid $109 million to back him up at this point.

Alas, this was a stellar Embiid performance. He is truly the one good thing about this game from Philadelphia’s perspective.