76ers' Joel Embiid Had a 'Human' Performance Against Phoenix Suns

On Friday night, when the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Golden State Warriors, the All-Star center Joel Embiid did a little bit of everything for his team. In

On Friday night, when the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Golden State Warriors, the All-Star center Joel Embiid did a little bit of everything for his team.

In nearly 38 minutes of action, Embiid drained 57 percent of his shots from the field to produce 46 points. He also came down with nine rebounds while producing eight assists. On defense, he snatched two steals and blocked one shot.

Although the Sixers came up short against the Warriors on Friday, Embiid once again reminded the basketball world why he’s in the MVP debate.

Embiid’s consistently made it clear throughout the season that winning is his top priority. Unfortunately, his Saturday night performance against the Phoenix Suns wasn’t enough to avoid falling into a two-game losing streak.

“I thought he was a little sluggish tonight,” said Sixers head coach Doc Rivers when asked about Embiid’s performance. “He was human.”

In 32 minutes, Embiid drained eight of his 19 shots from the field. He scored 28 points and came down with ten rebounds. While it was a below-average night for Embiid, Rivers still pointed out that Embiid’s down nights could be considered decent outings for other players around the league.

“I would love to be human and have 28, ten, and four, and that was a bad game for Joel’s standards,” Rivers finished. “He sets a standard when you think about it, and that’s pretty awesome in a lot of ways. I thought they trapped a lot. I thought we didn’t handle those very well as a group.”

Embiid’s star power couldn’t shine bright enough to take down the Suns on Saturday. With a 125-105 loss, the Sixers put a disappointing performance on display during the second night of their back-to-back. Now, Embiid and the Sixers will get a day to rest before re-grouping in Denver on Monday. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.