Preparing for the Toronto Raptors, Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers are the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference.
Thursday’s game is a bounce-back effort for both teams, who recently lost to the Boston Celtics. In the Sixers’ case, they dropped to 9-3, losing possession of the top seed in the East.
It’s too early to figure out the true identity of the team. Embiid joked that he has learned “nothing” from the first few weeks of action.
But when he really thought about it, the only thing Embiid really knows is that there is still plenty of room for improvement.
Joel Embiid Drops Honest Take On 76ers’ Start Before Raptors Game
“We’ve got a long way to go,” he told reporters.
“Obviously, offensively and defensively, we’re not where we want to be, but pretty good start. I think it’s pretty exciting that we all feel like we’re not even close to what we should be doing. We just gotta keep getting better.”
The 76ers’ record is just fine. However, they’ve dropped two of their last three games–with the losses coming against East contenders, while the lone win came against a 1-9 Bulls team.
The Sixers know that they are playoff-caliber, but they have a lot of improvements to make before they can confidently say they will compete for a title in the spring.
For Embiid personally, he has a lot of improvements to make. Appearing in 10 out of the first 12 games for the Sixers this season, Embiid has struggled a bunch with his shooting.
The veteran center is making just 37.0% of his shots to average 17.7 points per game. Typically a 20-plus-point scorer, Embiid has taken a backseat in that department. And while Embiid’s defense started strong this year, it’s been inconsistent lately. Thursday’s game against the shorthanded Raptors will be another opportunity for the Sixers to sharpen up as they look to avoid dropping three out of their last four.
