Joel Embiid gave the 76ers plenty to talk about Friday night, even in a 125-120 preseason loss to the Boston Celtics. The finish was the kind of moment that stops a game cold: Embiid rising for an unexpected dunk and then, afterward, explaining that it caught even him by surprise.
When the play came up in the locker room, Embiid was blunt about how strange it felt after his injury issues.
“I guess it's good to dunk,” Embiid said. “I thought I would never dunk again.
Yeah, I don't know what happened. I kind of got possessed.”
The dunk was the flashiest part of the night, but Embiid’s line was impressive all the same. He led Philadelphia with 27 points and added eight rebounds and five assists in the team’s final preseason game.
Tyrese Maxey was right behind him with 22 points and six assists. On the other side, Jaylen Brown put up 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists against his former team, while LeBron James finished with eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
The loss dropped Philadelphia to 1-3 in preseason play, but Embiid made it clear afterward that he doesn’t buy into the idea that the 76ers need their stars to shrink their games for the team to work.
“I'm against the concept of sacrificing,” Embiid said. “I think the way I explained it was you do what you do best, and we're going to support you. I don't think anybody has to take a backseat.
Now the attention shifts to the regular season opener against the New York Knicks, where Philadelphia will get its first real look at a revamped roster in a game that counts.
In Other News...
Sixers Just Addressed A Frontcourt Concern With Opening Night Near
With opening night drawing closer, the 76ers made a quiet but practical move to shore up their frontcourt depth by converting Tacko Falls Exhibit 10 contract into a two-way deal. The 7-foot-6 center gives Philadelphia another big body to work with as the roster takes shape, and the move fills the teams open two-way slot while keeping a player with previous NBA experience in the mix.
Fall has not been able to get on the floor in the preseason because of a strained hip, but his presence has still been viewed as a positive inside the locker room. Under the new deal, he can be active for up to 50 regular-season games and will earn a salary of $678,882, leaving the Sixers with one less open question as they finalize the edges of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Preseason Finale May Have Clarified Two Key Opening Night Roles
Joel Embiids final tune-up before the regular season looked a lot more like the version the Sixers need. In Philadelphias 125-120 overtime loss to Boston to close the preseason, Embiid finished with 27 points and chipped in across the board, giving the team a much cleaner glimpse of how the offense can function when he is moving with rhythm and purpose. The Sixers wrapped exhibition play at 1-3, but the bigger takeaway may have been how the rotation started to take shape around him.
One of the steadier constants was LeBron James, who led the team in assists in both preseason games, a sign the Sixers may have found a reliable connector for the regular season. Jabari Walker also helped his case with a strong showing in the finale, and his play looked good enough to lock in a spot in the opening rotation. Between Embiids sharper finish and Walkers push, the preseason finale may have answered a couple of the most important early questions for Philadelphia, even if the broader picture is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Turn To Tacko Fall As Center Depth Becomes A Real Concern
With the Sixers already dealing with a thin frontcourt, they are turning to Tacko Fall on a two-way contract as a way to add another true big man to the mix. Fall was unable to take part in the preseason because of a hip injury, but Philadelphias need at center has only grown with the injuries piling up around the position.
Fall brings NBA experience from his time with the Celtics and Cavaliers, along with work in the G League and Summer League, giving the Sixers another familiar center option to evaluate. For a team trying to patch together its depth chart, the move gives them a look at a player whose size alone changes the conversation, even if the bigger question is how soon he can actually get on the floor. [Read more 🡒]