Menu Close

Joel Embiid Shows More Progress in Preseason Game against the Cavaliers

Adrian Fedkiw|

Progress continues to be made.

Joel Embiid had 12 points, four rebounds and a block in 13 minutes of action, but the Philadelphia 76ers fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-105 in preseason action on Saturday night.

Embiid only played in the first half again and saw 13 minutes of floor time instead of the 12 he saw the first two games. He was 4-of-10 from the floor for the Sixers, who are 1-2 in the preseason so far. Embiid got involved early and often, scoring the team’s first six points. He either shot the ball or was fouled on six of Philadelphia’s first eight trips on the offensive end.

As much potential Embiid has flashed, there’s still areas where the 7-foot-2 monster has to polish. He hasn’t played for two years, so it’s expected that he’d be a little slow with his decision making. There’s been times where he gets the ball in the post and fails to quickly process the situation before being overwhelmed by double teams. There was also another situation in which he snatched the offensive rebound, but put the ball down on the floor and was stripped by Kyrie Irving

I’m also still trying to find out how this happened.

Other than that, it was a very impressive performance for the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Dario Saric netted just four points on 1-of-7 shooting and was 0-of-3 from beyond the arc. The shooting touch wavered after the Croatian came in connecting on four of his six attempts from distance. Consistency with his jumper has been an issue for Saric overseas, but when he’s in that rut, he helps his team in other areas. He had a pair of assists and could’ve had more, but some of those passes led to fouls being drawn.

Richaun Holmes continues to impress. The second-year Bowling Green product posted 19 points on 7-of-9 efficiency to go along with six boards. Sergio Rodriguez dished out a team-high eight assists and poured in 15 points, although he was just 5-of-14 from the floor and 3-of-10 from deep.

On to some more clips.

Embiid has easy range, which is going to be a huge weapon once he fully develops those post moves. Check out the big man knocking this triple down from the top of the arc.

This block was awesome. Embiid kept the petite and quick rookie Kay Felder in front of him on this left wing drive before swatting it away. WOW!

Embiid did get beat on a right wing drive by Channing Frye when the Cameroonian overcommitted on a close-out, but check out this splendid defense on Kyrie Irving’s left wing drive after getting matched up against him on a switch.

Saric didn’t handle the switch on Irving as well. His ankles bent, but at least they didn’t break.

I spoke of Saric’s passing earlier, this was an awesome find, connecting with a cutting Embiid down the lane with this right wing bounce pass.

Dario showing off that vision again with some interior passing, hitting Embiid with a bounce pass. Embiid sunk both of his foul shots.

LeBron James and Irving tallied 15 points apiece for Cleveland, while Jordan McRae led the team with 20 points.

The Sixers take the floor next Tuesday in Memphis when they clash with the Grizzlies.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.