There is one fundamental approach Joel Embiid has taken to his NBA career. On Wednesday, when starting with Jahlil Okafor for the first time, he veered away from his mantra.
“I think for once, since I've been a Sixer, I didn't trust the process tonight,” Embiid said. “I was just standing. I wasn't moving. I was just standing on the perimeter. I wasn't active on defense.”
The pairing of Embiid and Okafor in the starting lineup didn’t result in a win for the Sixers, who fell 123-114 to the Raptors (see Instant Replay). The two bigs have been petitioning to play together this season. They had done so twice against the Magic, and this was their first opportunity to start in tandem.
Embiid struggled. The team’s leading scorer posted a season-low nine points off just six shot attempts (3 for 6 from the floor, 0 for 2 from three and 3 for 5 from the line), four rebounds and five dimes. Even though this combination lent itself to better floor spacing, Embiid did not attempt his first field goal until the second quarter. It was a contrast to his average of 17.6 points and 7.5 rebounds.
“I felt like there's no doubt there is an adjustment being made by a few people,” Brett Brown said. “I think that he got his touches. He had the ball in his hands. We wouldn't see the end result of a high volume of shots, but he had five assists. He got to the line a few times. I think that we can probably look at that a little bit where he was involved, but he just wasn't involved to the level that we have been used to.”
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Embiid was not at 100 percent. He twisted his ankle during pregame warmups and then again in game action. He also was hit in the face and left the game with a bloody nose (he returned). In the fourth quarter, he hurdled himself into the crowd chasing the ball.
“I was kind of beat up tonight,” Embiid said. “But I’m going to give my all and just play hard. If I have to jump into the stands to save the ball, I’m going to do that.”
Okafor, on the other hand, looked energized as part of the starting duo. He scored 17 points, compared to his season average of 11.6, with four rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes overall. Okafor had a positive take on the pairing.
“It’s all a learning process for us,” he said. “It’s our first time playing together. We’re both trying to figure it out. I think Jo did well, I did well. It’s new to both of us.”
This duo will need improvement in order for it to be effective over four quarters. The Sixers cannot afford for their top scorer to go quiet on offense in such contrast to his abilities. Embiid and Okafor will need to become more comfortable with spacing and shot opportunities to create mismatches for the defense. Brown plans to utilize them together again when matchups are in their favor.
“I am inclined to try that,” Brown said. “If teams present it where it's clearly, responsible is a word that keeps coming to my mind, where we're not hurting the team. This balance of developing our guys and experimenting and truly seeing what do we have. What do we have? That's my job, draped under we want to win games. So that is a slippery slope, that's a funky line to walk sometimes. I do want to do it. We want to continue to try this.”
