Joel Embiid knows the shot isn’t there right now, and Friday in Cleveland only made that harder to ignore.
The Sixers center was held to six points in a 119-95 road loss to the Cavs, and he never found a groove. Embiid missed all nine of his field-goal attempts, including two more tries from 3-point range in a season that has started with plenty of frustration from deep.
“I think the way I’m jumping, and my hands [placement] are just not what it used to be,” Embiid told reporters. “I just have to go back and look at the clips and see what we can change and … get better.”
The numbers behind the slump are stark. Embiid is 3-of-28 on 3-pointers, a 10.7 percent clip, and as Keith Pompey of Sporting News noted, he has missed 17 straight since his last make against the Cavs on Oct. 22.
For Embiid, though, this isn’t just about a mechanical tweak. He pointed to the long stretch of limited availability over the last two seasons and the challenge of trying to rediscover his touch while also managing his body.
“I think it’s obviously being out basically the last two years, being in and out, not really having the opportunity to get on the court as much … to get the reps,” he said.
That lack of steady run has changed the way he works.
“I used to be able to get in the gym every single day, just getting the reps in, working on it. That’s why it was so automatic,” Embiid said.
“Now you got to find a way to kind of mix it up, because you got to manage your load. So you don’t get as much reps as possible.”
It’s a tricky tradeoff: the extra work that might help him rediscover his rhythm also adds to the physical strain he’s trying to control.
Cleveland made the night even more difficult. Evan Mobley and the Cavs’ defense kept Embiid from getting much of anything clean, while LeBron James also had a rough return to Rocket Arena.
Embiid said he’ll keep at it, even if the misses are weighing on him.
“I believe in myself,” he said, “but when you’re in these moments, and nothing is going in … it’s hard not to look at yourself and be down.”
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Peyton Watson was a big part of that stability, giving Cleveland a useful two-way boost in his latest outing and helping slow down Tyrese Maxey on the perimeter. Mitchell supplied the steadying offense with 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, and the Cavaliers got contributions across the lineup to protect the lead and finish the job, even as the bigger question remains how much of this version can hold up once the schedule tightens. [Read more 🡒]
Kenny Atkinson Revisits The Cavs Quote Fans Never Forgot
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Atkinson also used the moment to underline something coaches often say but rarely get to explain in detail: analytics matter, but so do mental and physical toughness when the games get tight and the season gets heavy. For Cleveland, it is another reminder that the margins in the postseason are shaped by more than numbers, even if one old quote still has a way of following a coach around. [Read more 🡒]
Cavaliers Just Got A Frustrating Knicks Reminder They Couldn't Ignore
The Cavaliers left Madison Square Garden with a 109-97 loss and a familiar kind of frustration, the sort that can linger because it was built on more than one bad stretch. Donovan Mitchell poured in 37 points, but most of that damage came late, after the game had already tilted the wrong way, and Cleveland spent much of the night trying to dig out of an early hole against a Knicks team that looked more physical from the start.
New Yorks edge was felt in the places Cleveland usually wants to control, with extra possessions and loose balls turning into a steady problem the Cavs never solved. James Harden had a rough night offensively, going 2-for-9 and finishing at minus-23, which only added to the reminder that this matchup can get away from Cleveland quickly when the other team wins the hustle battle and forces the Cavs to chase instead of dictate. [Read more 🡒]