Sixers' Joel Embiid is Hungry For More After Taking Over Against Nets

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- All season long, Sixers' center Joel Embiid has been one giant mystery. Some games, he would come in looking like an MVP caliber player, Other games, he appeared to be going through the motions.

When asked about his on-court mood swings, Embiid blamed a lack of having fun as the root of the issue. As the big man struggled with balancing maturity and enjoying himself, the All-Star center felt lost for a moment.

Now that he realized there's nothing actually wrong with playing animated, smack-talking the opponent, and hyping up the crowd when necessary, Embiid can get back to his old ways of just purely dominating his opponent.

Last week, Embiid teased a change as he coexisted well with his fellow guard Ben Simmons as they worked together on defeating the Los Angeles Clippers. Then, Embiid showed he belonged in the NBA All-Star game as he dominated then as well.

And upon returning to the court with his Sixers teammates, Embiid was asked to do a lot and then some against the Brooklyn Nets as the team's second All-Star, Ben Simmons, was out with lower-back tightness. Considering how much Embiid has struggled with his conditioning at times this season, it was unclear how he was going to be able to handle the workload.

At this point, the Sixers shouldn't have any worries about that now. Not only did Embiid dominate against Brooklyn, but he indeed willed the team to a comeback win as he picked up a season-high of 39 points, 16 rebounds, and a game-saving block in 41 total minutes of playing time in the overtime win against the Nets.

"He was all over the place," said Sixers' head coach Brett Brown. "Just defensively and offensively, he would say, 'just give me the ball.' He sure did [will the team to a win]." Moving forward, Embiid will have help as Simmons' injury isn't expected to be anything long-term. For the time being, though, the Sixers' big man is totally fine with being 'that guy' for his team as he can feel the playoffs inching closer.

Grabbing a win against an average Brooklyn team at home was expected, but the real challenge for Embiid and the Sixers is on Saturday as they are set to face the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks on the road. "You know, we beat them pretty bad the first matchup, and they got us in the last one, so we're just going to go out there and trying to beat them again," Embiid stated, following the win over the Nets.

While Embiid felt good about his excellent performance against the Nets, the big man isn't patting himself on the back as if his matchup was perfect. He understands that the little mistakes that were made against Brooklyn won't fly against the Bucks. "I thought I did an OK job [against the Nets]," Embiid said. "I had too many turnovers, and we gave up too many offensive rebounds. We got another one Saturday, so we have to do a better job."

The Sixers are set to travel to Milwaukee on Friday afternoon to prepare for their Saturday night matchup against the Bucks. So far this season, the Sixers are 1-1 against Milwaukee. A win over the Bucks on the road could be just what the Sixers need to help build some road confidence moving forward as they take on the final third of the schedule.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_