Philadelphia 76ers fans were treated to something on Sunday afternoon they haven’t seen yet at all this season: the team’s Big 3 starting a game together and actually all making it to the final horn unscathed.
Back on Nov. 20, Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey all played together for the first time, but it was a short-lived experience with George exiting that contest early with another knee injury. On Sunday, however, it all came together. The trio played their first full game together with a 108-100 win over the Chicago Bulls. Most eyes, though, were trained solely on Embiid, playing in just his fifth game all season and his first game in over two weeks.
For the first time in a very long time, Embiid looked almost like... Embiid. For three quarters (more on that in the film), the big fella was in a rhythm, dominating the Bulls’ defense and ultimately leading the Sixers’ with 31 points on 13-of-28 field goal shooting, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
But the stat line only tells part of the story, so let’s take a closer look at Embiid’s return this past weekend.
The First Stint
Let's look at Joel Embiid vs. Bulls (Dec. 8)
Starting with Q1. Minus a few tiny moments of exertion, Embiid seemed to be apprehensive to say the least - minimizing movement, dodging any contact, hesitant to go vertical, and settling on shots instead of moving to better looks. pic.twitter.com/OLc4Ufa1Ca
— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) December 10, 2024
Off the tip, this looked like it might become yet another Embiid performance we’ve seen through this injury saga where the big fella plays completely passively and is clearly doing everything in his power to limit movement or reliance on his knee.
Right off the bat (0:06), we have Embiid towards the top of the key with Nikola Vucevic in a deeper drop coverage. This allows Embiid to heave up a three-pointer off the Maxey bounce pass. It’s not a bad shot selection, but it’s clear that Embiid is trying to stay still instead of taking the space ahead of him to work towards the midrange elbow jumper that will become his bread and butter later this contest. Moments later (0:22), down the defensive end, Embiid is tracking Josh Giddey’s drive into the paint but both his timing on his jump and any explosiveness getting up are way off. Being 7-foot and in the way in any facet helps, but you can feel the passiveness in his play.
This is the continuing theme throughout the rest of the first period. It was just passive. The missed shots don’t particularly bother me, as it usually takes a player a little bit of time to shake off the rust shooting at game speed after an injury layoff.
He was being careful — too careful. He finished the first period with zero points going 0-for-6 from the floor with just two rebounds (one a ways away from the rim and the other a failed tip-in attempt).
Just at the end of his shift, however, we did see a glimpse of what was to come. Embiid doesn’t give up on a defensive play (2:10), continually tracking Coby White and elevating just a little to put up a block on an off-balance shot. He didn’t have to jump much for this one, something he seemed scared to do for most of the frame, but seeing him inch toward that was an encouraging sign.
Shooting (after Q1)
Joel Embiid vs. Bulls (Dec. 8) part 2
This is every shot he took after Q1. A stark contrast to Q1, Embiid seems to start trusting his knee and body. He doesn't endanger himself, but he isn't afraid to post up or fight for a good midrange look.
Q1: 0-6 FG
Rest of game: 13-22 FG pic.twitter.com/avgE7Z7e7o
— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) December 10, 2024
The rest of the game was night-and-day from the first period for Embiid offensively. He missed his first shot of the period (0:02) but looking at the play, George passes the ball out to Embiid outside the arc with time expiring on the shot clock. That one is more on PG.
A switch seems to flip after that. Suddenly, Embiid decided to start posting up on Vucevic (0:10). He shoves the Bulls center back at will, pivoting comfortably, spinning off Vucevic to create space and finally rising up for the jumper, his first bucket of the night. And for the first time that afternoon, looking confident in being physical. That confidence in using his body, knee included, persisted the rest of the game.
It wasn’t all bully ball, though... which is likely going to be critically important to keeping Embiid healthy for any sort of long term. The Sixers ended up absolutely spamming an Embiid-Maxey two-man game throughout Sunday’s contest because it just kept working. Some of the plays are so identical I thought I had put the same highlight in twice while editing until the last moment. The pick-and-roll synergy between the two fed Embiid an onslaught of foul line elbow jumpers (0:57) and gave him the openings to drive forcefully to the rim to finish without having to drive directly into contact and risk himself too much (0:49).
After going 0-for-6 from the floor with zero points in his passive first period, Embiid shot 13-for-22 from the field with 31 points throughout the remaining three frames.
Rebounding
Joel Embiid vs. Bulls (Dec. 8) part 3
This is every Embiid rebound. Most of these rebounds are just him standing down under the rim when shots from outside come in, and that’s okay! Him being able to go relatively unscathed and pull in double-digit rebounds is optimal for this… pic.twitter.com/UjyF8Cz4fx
— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) December 10, 2024
This is a continuation of the theme of Embiid doing what he can to help his team without throwing himself straight into danger on every play. Most of these rebounds are just Embiid standing down under the rim when shots from outside come in, and that’s OK! There are a few instances where you can see Embiid really battling and boxing out, which is great to see, but there is a lot of instances here where just Embiid’s presence in range of a loose rebounds seemed to dissuade the Bulls from even fighting for them — that’s great! We’ll take that! If Embiid can stand still, relatively uncontested and pull in double-digit rebounds every game, there’s not a damn thing wrong with that.
(The exception to that is the first rebound in this video, but more on that in the “Trusting the Knee” section.)
Embiid had 12 boards (three offensive) on Sunday.
Assists
Joel Embiid vs. Bulls (Dec. 8) part 4
Embiid had 4 assists but easily could have had a handful more if Sixers hit all their open looks. The important thing is that the spacing off Embiid's screens looked great and his passes were mostly on point once in the groove. pic.twitter.com/OJngnLQn63
— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) December 10, 2024
Embiid only had four assists in Sunday’s game but he very easily could have had a handful more if some of his Sixers’ teammates weren’t struggling with open looks. A perfect example is the dribble handoff between Embiid and Maxey (0:22). In the video, Maxey finally sinks that long-range shot that he’s been struggling with recently. The possession before that, the duo ran the exact same play. Embiid with the DHO and screen, Maxey with a ton of space for the comfortable triple look — it just didn’t fall. I don’t say this to point the finger at Maxey or anyone else for Embiid not having more assists. That’s not what matters. What matters is the success of the maneuver itself in moving the ball and the insane spacing a fast player like Maxey or Jared McCain are able to get off of the Embiid screen. Those shots will start falling if the maneuver keeps working.
Another type of play that didn’t yield any assists this go around but was creating good looks regardless was Embiid drawing double teams in the post or on the elbow. There were some moments where Embiid struggled to get out of the double team defense, but he had a number of good passes out either directly to the open Sixers teammate or getting the ball moving in their direction. Again, those shots just didn’t fall this game, but they will eventually. The spacing and the passing is what’s encouraging.
Trusting the Knee
Joel Embiid vs. Bulls (Dec. 8) part 5
The biggest evolution throughout this one was Embiid's trust in his knee. He saved a ball going out of bounds early but seemed extremely tentative otherwise in Q1. Later on, he starts to visibly trust it more, whether its with a jump stop… pic.twitter.com/hUy87KZryg
— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) December 11, 2024
The biggest evolution throughout this game that allowed Embiid to go from an afterthought to a dominating force seemed to be his growing trust in his knee. There is an intense mental game for players who have suffered injuries like Embiid in learning to try to trust and work with their body again without holding back too much in fear of reinjury. We got a little glimpse of this right out of the gate (0:08) when Embiid leaps out of bounds to save an offensive rebound, turning his own missed shot into an assist to Guerschon Yabusele.
The next thing that caught my eye was how he was moving once he began working the post and fighting for those elbow jumpers. He suddenly started to look comfortable pivoting, spinning, leaping off that knee and more. The one that particularly caught my eye was a jump stop into a midrange jumper (0:19). I can’t imagine much scarier for a guy with a bad knee than the idea of stopping 7-feet and 280 pounds worth of momentum with a jump stop, but Embiid does it. He pulls right up into the middy.
Let’s look at one from down the other end. This game wasn’t the biggest defensive test for Embiid with the Bulls spending most of their offensive time outside the arc, shooting 54 threes and just 32 two-point field goals. A lot of the defense left for Embiid to play was just to try to get out to get a hand up in front of the face of the Bulls’ perimeter shooting. Nice low risk, low intensity moves for a first game in a few weeks. That wasn’t the case though in one play during the final frame (0:26) where Embiid did something that he seemed completely unwilling to do in the first period: get actually vertical for a block. After White was switched onto Embiid on defense, the big fella hangs with him on his drive into the paint and perfectly times a jump to put up a big block at the rim. Him doing that was a huge development compared to the first period, and hopefully is an indication of Embiid feeling good on the court.
Overall
So, what does it all mean? Well, with the very-limited evidence of one random game, maybe it doesn’t mean anything. The Sixers are off until Friday night which means we probably won’t hear about how Embiid’s knee is recovering from the outing until later this week. So, until then, let’s just focus on this game.
Embiid went from looking uncertain and completely passive in Q1 to dominant and physical throughout the rest of the game, without throwing himself around recklessly. The first stint was a bit scary to watch at first, looking like Embiid would be stuck in that mental and physical slog, but it was all it took for the big fella to get back into a groove.
The bottom line is, Embiid may never be a guy that can go all out physically for the entirety of games upon games. He might not be able to just rely on bully ball to back down anyone who dares cross his path or be able to throw his full body into every single play, but that is okay. Embiid is multifaceted enough as a player to be a successful individual player and vital teammate without completely endangering himself every possession, and that was on full display Sunday.
Let’s hope it’s a sign of things to come.