Pros and Cons: Sixers vs. Timberwolves
Three normal things.
Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
Ah, home sweet home. The Sixers finally returned to South Philly tonight to face the surging Minnesota Timberwolves, in a game that marked Joel Embiid’s return from COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Here’s what’s on my mind tonight.
Pro: Joel Embiid is back!
I can’t lead with anything else: after an absence that lasted three weeks instead of the typical 10-12 days, Embiid finally made his return to the floor tonight.
Embiid looked about the way I figured he would -- the incredible plays were still happening here and there, but the rust was apparent. Embiid missed some good looks and was probably a step slower than usual. However, his stamina during this marathon of a game was a shocker, and a testament to the shape he’s in.
Needless to say, Embiid returning is about as big of a boost a team could ever benefit from. The Sixers are adding a high-volume, high-efficiency scorer to their half-court offense, and a total stalwart at the rim to their defense. As Embiid is gradually reintegrated while he becomes his best self again, the load on each of his teammates becomes smaller than it was during the west coast trip.
And boy did he show that in the overtime periods. Embiid went nuclear on Minnesota on both ends of the ball.
How Embiid’s body fares post-COVID-19 in the long-run remains to be seen. Some have long-lasting symptoms, and some look like the same player they were before. But as we know very well, any version of Embiid lifts the Sixers a massive amount. And he was special tonight.
Con: Point Furkan goes south
Korkmaz had a hot start to the season in which he was excellent in just about every regard. He was knocking down threes and making plays off the dribble for others.
Well, Furkan has been on a cold streak from deep of late. But the shot will come back: his track record as a shooter is too excellent for it not to. But it gets worse: Korkmaz’s ability as a playmaker seems to have cratered.
Early in the year, Korkmaz was able to leverage his shooting ability into consistent success attracting closeouts and finding the open man. But with Shake Milton (groin) and Ben Simmons (you know why) unavailable, the Sixers are lacking at the point guard position. Tonight, the Sixers only had one reliable ball-handler, and it was Tyrese Maxey.
Con: Tobias Harris and the Sixers struggle without Embiid
Shocker! Per usual, the Sixers were clearly the best team on the floor when Embiid was in the game. And -- stop me if you’ve heard this before -- they completely crumbled whenever Embiid rested. Yes, they lost in an overtime period that Embiid played in, but they truly lost this game in the stints in which he sat and the team suffered.
The most obvious culprit here is Andre Drummond, who tonight continued his stretch of not-so-great basketball aside from an absolutely legendary tip-in.
But it extends way beyond Drummond: for example, when Embiid is off the floor, the Sixers need Tobias Harris to play like the max contract guy that the Sixers made him. With one star on the bench and another at home, Harris’ workload has spiked, particularly as a ball-handler.
Harris struggled tonight aside from a few timely offensive rebounds and putbacks. But tonight we once again saw the burden placed on his shoulders as this team’s primary perimeter scorer. Is that a role he can handle for a championship-level team? I remain skeptical.