Joel Embiid ‘still extremely rusty’ in season debut vs. Knicks

Joel Embiid made his long-awaited season debut for the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night, and while the team’s 111-99 loss to the New York Knicks wasn’t the desired result, having Joel back on the hardwood could be counted as a win. As expected, the rust and hesitancy playing with the knee brace were evident, with Embiid shooting just 2-of-11 from the field and not taking drives available to him like we’ve seen in the past. Still, Joel looked active and mobile on defense and came through 26 minutes of action unscathed, so we can look forward to his next time out on the court (likely to come Friday in Orlando).

After the game, Embiid was asked how he felt in his return to play:

“I felt OK. The first five minutes were rough. I guess that’s what happens when you haven’t played in a while. But I thought after that, still extremely rusty. That’s expected. I thought overall, I felt pretty good health-wise. It’s just about trusting myself. I thought I was a little timid, so I stuck with a lot of jumpers just to get myself a little comfortable. But as the games go, I’m sure just getting back to myself is going to be easier.”

Head coach Nick Nurse echoed the rust theme for Joel during his post-game media session:

“Listen, he was certainly rusty, right? I think both rust and conditioning showed up fairly early. I’ve seen him kind of play through that before, kind of respond in the second half after being on a layoff for a little bit. He seemed to do it a little bit, but then I thought he got a little tired again in the fourth. But again, probably to be expected. I thought he played with some pretty good competitive spirit, for what he could do out there.”

Of course, in addition to Tuesday night being Embiid’s season debut, it was also the first time we were able to see he and Paul George play together. The other side of the partnership certainly looked terrific, with PG dropping a season-high 29 points, shooting 7-of-11 from three, and tallying 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals, and one block. Joel spoke about playing with his new All-Star teammate for the first time:

“It felt good. I thought tonight he had a nice rhythm, which we’re going to need him to keep doing and keep building on that. Like I said, my job is just trying to make the game easy for these guys, setting screens and just trying to make the game simple, especially as I’m getting back in and trying to feel more comfortable.”

George was asked about whether he feels there’s pressure on Joel as he ramps up to playing more like himself:

“I think there’s no process for him. He is the piece, he is The Process. I think he just finds his way, as he should. We’re here to kind of keep things going afloat until he gets going himself. But I don’t think there’s any pressure on him to do anything extra. He’ll find his rhythm as the games go on, as we learn to play off of him and play around him. I’ve seen it in practice, so I know he’s not too far off. Obviously, games are different, but I’ve seen him playing at a high level in these practices, so he’s not too far off.”

Embiid had this to say on how long it’ll take for everything to come together with all the new pieces:

“We’ll be fine. Based on the history, I think with us on the floor, we’ll be fine. I think it’s all about everybody getting on the same page. Like I said, right now I’m still trying to figure out the best way to help. … I think it’s all about us just getting on the floor together, learning how to play with each other. But health is a big thing. I’m back. PG’s feeling pretty good. Now we need to get Tyrese back. Once we’re all on the floor, I think we’re going to have a pretty good chance to win some games.”

Winning games is certainly something the team needs to start doing. Philadelphia is 2-8, only ahead of Toronto in the Eastern Conference, with another game against undefeated Cleveland on deck tonight. You can say things will change once everyone’s available, but at a certain point, the standings are what they are. Embiid responded to a question about whether the team’s poor start means it’s more urgent for him to get back to himself:

“Yeah. When you’re 2-8, it’s tough. I haven’t had that in my career so far. Even my third season, we were really competitive. If I’d finished the year, I think we actually had a chance of making the playoffs. So, urgency, sure … but everybody’s getting back.”

While there will assuredly still be some bumps ahead, Joel Embiid returning to the court on Tuesday was a good step towards this Sixers team reaching the goals it set for itself and living up to the promise of the offseason.