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Joel Embiid Impresses in Limited Preseason Debut

Adrian Fedkiw|

It was a very promising 12-plus minutes.

Joel Embiid scored six points to go with four rebounds and two blocks in his NBA preseason debut as the Philadelphia 76ers edged the Boston Celtics 92-89 on Tuesday night.

It was the 7-foot-2 Embiid’s first game action since March 1, 2014 when he was a freshman at Kansas. The No. 3 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft has been sidelined the last two seasons due to a pair of surgeries on his right foot. Sixers head coach Brett Brown discussed Embiid’s minutes restriction following the Sixers’ shootaround Tuesday morning.

“I’ve got a 12-minute budget and I’m probably going to spend it in the first aisle I come to,” he said. “I feel like I’m going to use that up in the first half and just play him … I’ve got a good thing going right now with our three bigs. If you’re not going rim to rim on two consecutive possessions, you have to be tired. So it’s no problem. Have a seat and we’ll bring somebody else in.”

Brown did use it up in the first half, with Embiid playing 12:57. He showed off some moves in the post, range on his jumper and some blocking ability. So fluid and athletic, Embiid was impressive. Here were his first preseason points as a Sixer, taking Tyler Zeller to school on the right block.

Dario Saric also made his Sixers preseason debut Tuesday. He was 4-of-6 from the field and knocked down 2-of-3 from behind the arc for a total of 10 points. Brandon Paul led the team with 15 points, while Spain’s Sergio Rodriguez, who was also making his first appearance in a Sixers uniform Tuesday, dished out six assists. Jahlil Okafor didn’t play due to a knee injury he suffered last year prior to the end of the season. The No. 1 pick Ben Simmons, of course, was set to make his Sixers preseason debut Tuesday before suffering a right foot injury last week.

Let’s take a look at some other clips from Embiid. Check out the range on the jump shot with the time running down in the opening frame.

Embiid doing his best Ben Simmons impression with a rebound and dribbling exhibition up the floor.

This was an awesome block of rookie Jaylen Brown rumbling down the lane.

Embiid missed each of his first three jump shots, but you can see the nice stroke Embiid possesses. He was off the mark on a face-up jumper on his first attempt.

The second shot clanked off the rim following a couple of jab steps from the right elbow.

The third miss came from the right baseline with the shot clock running down.

Saric’s first preseason points came on a right wing 3-pointer.

Here’s another triple, this time from the top of the arc.

Saric runs down the floor and gets the lookahead pass from McConnell before finishing at the rim with a dunk.

McConnell also had a nice dish to Nerlens Noel for this alley-oop.

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