Joel Embiid Keeping 76ers Grounded After Statement Win vs. Celtics

Over the years, Joel Embiid has repeated the same message in his mind throughout a long 82-game season…

“Can’t get too high, can’t get too low.”

Right now, the Sixers are riding high after defeating the 5-1 Boston Celtics in an intense early November matchup, but the timing of the battle and the way the victory played out was key in Embiid’s analysis when he sat back and thought about it.

“A win is a win,” said a stern Embiid, “but you know that was a bad ending.”

Wednesday night’s battle in South Philly featured the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics were coming off their first loss of the year, while the Sixers hadn’t lost since the opening game of the season.

At one point late in the second half, it seemed the Sixers were headed towards the path of comfortably cruising past the Celtics with a sixth-straight victory. Going into the fourth quarter, Philly held a ten-point lead, which was extended to 15 early on in the final quarter.

Then, the Celtics cut deep into the Sixers’ lead, bringing the game down to the final offensive possession for Boston.

“We didn’t take out the ball, and we just made it easy for them to score,” Embiid explained. “We just got to do better.”

A successful three-ball by Boston's Kristaps Porzingis during the final seconds of regulation could've sent the game into overtime. A botched shot allowed the Sixers to grab a rebound and let the clock run out.

The Sixers avoided a fourth-quarter collapse and managed to send the Celtics home with their second loss of the year. With that victory, the Sixers take sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference seven games into the season.

It’s difficult to truly judge a team this early on in the season as players are still getting comfortable, and rotations are still getting sorted out. While the Sixers have looked much better than one might’ve expected, considering the way the situation played out with James Harden, Embiid is making sure they don’t go jumping on their high horse just yet.

“We got a long way to go,” said the center. “We’re on the right path.”

Learning from mistakes and taking time to build on improvements are the key to finding success later on down the line. As Embiid sat back and thought about Philly’s performance against Boston on Wednesday, he already had an idea of what needed to be better moving forward before even reviewing the tape.

“So many things could have been better today,” Embiid explained. “Taking care of the ball. I missed quite a few shots, Tyrese [Maxey], he missed a lot of shots that he’s been making. We were not as efficient as we’ve been, but it happens.”

So far this season, the Sixers have been top-ten in offensive efficiency, with a 56 percent effective field goal percentage. On Wednesday night, they averaged just 48 percent in that category. As far as turnovers go, the Sixers didn’t struggle mightily in that category, coughing it up just one more time than the Celtics, but on a personal level, Embiid was responsible for nearly half of his team’s 14 turnovers.

Despite the struggles that stood out to the big man, it wasn’t all bad in Embiid’s eyes as he admired his team’s intensity from start to finish.

“Defensively just being together, following the game plan,” Embiid said regarding his positive takeaways. “The game plan was key, and I thought for the most part we followed it and we executed it, you know, adjustments and just playing together.”

A tight 106-103 victory over Boston is a great confidence booster for this new-look 76ers team under the first-year head coach, Nick Nurse. However, the seasoned veteran Embiid has been around far too long to know that the Sixers can’t get ahead of themselves at this stage in the season.

Appreciating the win for what it was is fine, but staying grounded is key for Philadelphia.