76ers Fall Short to Knicks in First NBA Cup Game, 111-99

The 76ers slide to 2-8 following the loss at home to the Knicks, with a final tally of 111-99. This game marked the first of four NBA Cup games the Sixers are guaranteed to participate in. Their next Cup game will take place this Friday in Orlando.

Tonight, we saw Joel Embiid make his highly anticipated debut, and it is safe to say he looked like a shell of himself. The Sixers play tomorrow, hosting the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers.

Here are some notes from tonight’s loss.

Embiid is back… kind of

Embiid finally made his debut in game number 10 of the season. Going strictly off the eye test, he looked fine. He showed hardly any signs of that left knee holding him back. He was seen running full-speed downhill on offense at times and running with full effort on defense, even getting a chase-down block. Nick Nurse seems to be closely managing his time, only playing 26 minutes tonight. He seemed engaged in the game as he typically does. After a gritty, borderline offensive-foul bucket over Jalen Brunson in the third quarter, he did his signature arm-wave to get the crowd going. So, generally and physically, he looked okay.

Diving into his stats and actual play, however, a darker picture emerges. Embiid shot just 2-11 from the field for a total of 13 points, 8 of those coming from his 8-8 performance at the line. He also only pulled down 3 rebounds. That is unacceptable by his standards, and his lack of boards is only exacerbated by a scrappy Knicks team—the same team that eliminated the 76ers from the playoffs last year due to poor rebounding. Overall, it seemed Embiid was out of place and tentative. This should be expected, and I anticipate it will take him a few games to get his rhythm. For the time being, it will take time for the Sixers to re-establish Embiid as the offensive focal point, especially as he builds chemistry with his new teammates. Embiid, staying true to his word from the preseason, will not play tomorrow against the Cavs.

Maxey’s injury could be a blessing in disguise

Tyrese Maxey pulled one of his hamstrings, and the early timeline provided by the Sixers is said to be one or two weeks—a very day-by-day type of injury. I believe this timeline is just for the sake of providing one, as hamstring injuries are among the most delicate and unpredictable. It is nearly impossible to get a true return date on a hamstring injury. I think it’s more likely he won’t return until after Christmas rather than before Thanksgiving.

“How can this be a blessing?” you may ask. Well, this gives rookie Jared McCain a real opportunity to get valuable playing time and become accustomed to NBA play. He has already started to make clear strides. Tonight, he had 23 points on 7-16 from the field, following his career-high 27 points on 10-18 shooting in the game against Charlotte. In the past three games, he has played over 30 minutes per game and has attempted 27 threes, making 10 of them for a 3P% of 40.7%. Tonight, he looked exemplary. He really seemed to be the focal point of the offense at times and is not shying away from this opportunity. It’s cliché, but he doesn’t look like a typical rookie—he has good instincts. I’ve seen people calling for him to start when the squad is fully healthy, but I wouldn’t go that far. I still think there’s value in a player like him coming off the bench.

Where did they go wrong tonight?

Simply put, the Knicks are a good team. They have a lot of ways to kill you with the offseason additions of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. Tonight, the difference-makers for the Knicks were OG Anunoby and Josh Hart. Anunoby owned whoever was guarding him, especially off-ball. He got a lot of easy looks around the rim, leading to 24 points on a very efficient 11-16 from the field. Defensively, he is typically a hound, but Paul George gave him trouble as PG posted a game-high 29 points on 10-19 from the field, with 7 threes to boot.

On the other hand, Hart is quickly becoming a Sixers-stopper, notching a triple-double: 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists on a solid 6-8 from the field. Hart gave the Sixers trouble during the playoffs last year, and unfortunately, it seems that knack for owning the Sixers is not wavering. A final noteworthy performance comes from Caleb Martin. Martin has been kind of inconsistent to start his Sixers tenure, but tonight he got back on track with a 17-point performance on 7-10 shooting.

The 76ers stay at home to host the scorching-hot Cavs tomorrow night in a game that likely will not feature Embiid.

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