Wednesday night in the NBA featured a clash between the two best teams record-wise in the Eastern Conference in the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics. It was the Celtics who emerged victorious, walking away with a 123-101 win, moving past the 76ers in the East standings. With 12 games now under their belt, 76ers star Joel Embiid was candid when asked what the team has learned about themselves, as per Kris Rhim of ESPN.
“Nothing,” Embiid said. “We have a long way to go. Obviously offensively, defensively, we know what we want to do. But it’s a pretty good start, and I think it’s pretty exciting that we all feel like we’re not even forcing what we should be doing and we just got to keep getting better.”
In the 76ers’ loss to the Celtics, Joel Embiid finished with 16 points, six rebounds and one assist in 31 minutes of play. He shot only 2-of-9 from the field and 1-of-3 from the 3-point line, but he was 11-of-13 from the free-throw line. It wasn’t really a strong game from anyone outside of Tyrese Maxey and the Anfernee Simons off the bench.
With the loss, the 76ers fell to 9-3 on the season and they dropped to second place in the East behind the Celtics (10-2). For the 76ers to be a legitimate contender in the East, Embiid is crucial to any potential success.
Article Continues BelowThe seven-time All-Star is continuing to manage a knee injury from last year, but has been overall healthy and available this season. He’s appeared in 10 of the team’s first 12 games at a little over 31 minutes per game. The former No. 3 overall pick is averaging 17.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists with splits of 37 percent shooting from the field, 12.1 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 89 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Although Embiid’s shooting percentages are somewhat alarming, conventional wisdom suggests he gets closer to his career averages as the season progresses.

