Joel Embiid played basketball for the first time in 232 days.
The Philadelphia 76ers played their annual Blue/White Scrimmage at Chase Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon. The exhibition offers two lineups – one typically composed of Philadelphia’s starters and the other with reserves. While it was an inconsequential scrimmage, seeing Embiid back in action and making impact plays offered fans a therapeutic preview of what’s to come.
Key Embiid moments
- Tyrese Maxey flowed into a dribble handoff with Embiid, which resulted in Maxey drawing two defenders heading towards the basket. This created space for Embiid to roll and Maxey wittingly detected the advantage. He fed Embiid, who evaded Johni Broome for an easy layup. This is a textbook play that the two all-stars have mastered throughout the years.
- Fans have grown accustomed to seeing Embiid feast off the dribble. However, with all that he and Philadelphia went through in the past year, this face-up hit differently. Embiid had Broome at the top of the key and used sharp footwork and penetration to settle into a pull-up jumper from the nail that the rookie was unable to contest.
- The 76ers continued to run actions with Embiid and their variety of guards, which included Quentin Grimes and VJ Edgecombe this time. Embiid swung the ball to Edgecombe at the wing, then set an off-ball screen for Grimes. Edgecombe passed it to Grimes, who used Embiid’s pick to dive towards the rim. With two defenders drawn, Grimes darted it back to Embiid, who made the connective pass to Edgecombe for a spot-up three. Sets like these maximize the usage of Philadelphia’s guards while lowering Embiid’s offensive burden.
- Embiid operated against Andre Drummond on the baseline and effortlessly hit Drummond with a shot fake to get him in the air. From there, the 2023 Most Valuable Player skied for a powerful dunk, which served as a relief for those who questioned how much athleticism he had left.
What this means
When evaluating Embiid’s performance, it’s more important to observe the offense Philadelphia ran rather than the results considering the noncompetitive nature of the game. The 76ers used Embiid in a lot of actions rather than post-ups, which could be a part of Philadelphia’s plan to manage his workload throughout the season.
Nick Nurse also paired Embiid and Adem Bona throughout the exhibition to the intrigue of many. Philadelphia could benefit from the front-court size and rim protection that tandem offers against larger teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers or Houston Rockets. However, the 76ers’ backup center situation is unsolved, so they may not want to rely on Bona so heavily each game.
“That has been my goal since I got drafted, at some point to be able to share the floor with Joel,” Bona told PHLY Sports Sunday. “I’ve been working towards developing my game to be able to complement his game while I’m on the floor with him.”
It remains to be seen whether Embiid will play the 76ers’ season-opener against the Boston Celtics on October 22nd. However, if Embiid was further away from a return, likely, he wouldn’t have participated in this scrimmage, which is the route Paul George took.