Joel Embiid Wants to Keep 76ers Consistent Despite Key Injuries
Both teams missed key players in the Friday night matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Milwaukee Bucks. For the Bucks, their key starter out of the mix was Khris Middleton, who has yet to make his debut in 2022-2023.
For the Sixers, James Harden’s absence has created a question mark in the playmaking department, as the ten-time All-Star went out with a foot injury a little over two weeks ago.
The Sixers know they can win games without Harden, but they were challenged further on Friday night. As their starting guard Tyrese Maxey was in the midst of one of his best recent games, the third-year veteran suffered a foot injury of his own, which caused him to leave the court and head back to the Sixers’ locker room.
Shortly after, Maxey was ruled out for the remainder of the matchup, leaving the Sixers to rely on Shake Milton and De’Anthony Melton to lead the backcourt.
To no surprise, Sixers center Joel Embiid had to be the team’s anchor. As the big man has put on some wildly dominant two-way performances as of late, the situation was no different for Embiid on Friday night.
However, he got a lot of help this time around.
Last Sunday against Utah, Embiid needed to put his team on his back and score nearly 60 points for the 76ers to come out on top. Against the Bucks, everybody available had a hand in winning, which is something Embiid wants to remain consistent moving forward.
"We should be like that every night,” said the Sixers All-Star. “That's how we should be playing.”
Embiid led the Sixers in scoring against the Bucks as he put up a game-high of 32 points in 36 minutes. Down the stretch, he was once again dominant offensively as he scored eight of Philly’s 21 fourth-quarter points, knocking down 50 percent of his shots.
The big man looked aggressive, but he felt he could’ve offered more in that department when the game was all said and done, as he feels he can be a much better playmaker moving forward to fill the void of the absent Harden and Maxey.
“I should be more aggressive,” Embiid continued. “I want the ball and not to score — to make sure I get everybody involved — my teammates. I believe that when I have the ball, there's so much attention created, and I can make my teammates' lives easier. It's been like that for the past few games. It doesn't matter when they come back. We just have to keep going."
Harden believes he’s on pace to return sometime within the one-month timeline set. As for Maxey, his injury timeline remains unclear as of now. Therefore, Embiid hopes the team can mirror its recent success as they’ve now won three straight going into their Saturday night matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
