Joel Embiid can laugh about it now, but the 3-point shot is clearly not cooperating.
After another quiet night from deep in Philadelphia’s 112-106 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday at Little Caesars Arena, the 76ers star joked that he may be ready to shelve the shot entirely.
“Tonight might’ve been the last three I ever take,” Embiid said.
That line came after Embiid went 0-of-3 from beyond the arc, leaving him just 3-of-26 on the season from long range, according to ESPN’s Kris Rhim. That works out to 11.5%, a rough number for a player who has made perimeter shooting a real part of his game.
The odd part is that the 3-ball has usually been one of the tools that makes Embiid so tough to guard. He shot 33.3% from deep last season, and the shot has long been used to drag opposing centers away from the paint. Nick Nurse has even said in the past that he wanted Embiid firing somewhere “in the six to nine range” of threes per game.
Even without the jumper falling, Embiid still delivered the kind of night Philadelphia needs from him. He finished with 26 points and 15 rebounds on 8-of-18 shooting, and he was perfect at the line, going 10-of-10 from the free-throw stripe. A big chunk of his scoring came on the offensive glass, where he helped generate nine second-chance points.
That matters for a Sixers team that needs Embiid on the floor. He has played 39 or fewer games in each of the past three seasons, and he arrived at Media Day noticeably slimmer as he tries to stay available for his first season alongside LeBron James.
Philadelphia is off to a strong start anyway. Jaylen Brown powered the offense with a season-high 30 points, and James added 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. The win also erased the team’s only loss of the season and pushed the Sixers to 8-1, which puts them atop the Eastern Conference.
The next test comes Friday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. As for Embiid’s 3-point attempts, that remains an open question.
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Terry entered the league as a former first-round pick, and this latest deal gives him another chance to carve out a role on a team that needs depth right now. Oklahoma City has been willing to mine every available option while its roster is stretched thin, and Terrys path from Philly to the Thunder is another reminder of how quickly opportunity can change in this league. [Read more 🡒]
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Simmons also framed the move as one that could give James a better path back to the NBA Finals, pointing to the way his mood and role acceptance have reportedly improved. For the Sixers, the larger issue is whether the combination of talent, coaching and roster management can keep that kind of alignment intact long enough to matter when the games tighten up. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Nurse Just Made The 76ers Frontcourt Wait Even Harder
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Nick Nurse said Barlow is seeing a specialist and has only had limited court time so far, with a re-evaluation expected soon. For a Philadelphia frontcourt already waiting on more clarity, the bigger concern is the uncertainty around when Barlow can realistically rejoin the mix, since the recovery timeline remains unsettled. [Read more 🡒]