CHICAGO – Joel Embiid issued a typical response to a familiar question.
Embiid, who returned to action after missing seven consecutive games on Sunday afternoon and led the Sixers to a win over the Chicago Bulls, was asked about his 19-point eruption in the second quarter.
What changed between the disastrous first quarter Embiid experienced in which he missed all six of his shot attempts, his explosion in the following quarter and his steady scoring for the remainder of the game, which he led with 31 points.
"I just got lucky that I started making shots," Embiid said.
Is that really all it was?
"Yeah," Embiid said with a grin. "It is luck."
MORE: Sixers defeat Bulls behind Embiid
This was not the first time Embiid has done something otherworldly and then pretended he had merely been the beneficiary of good fortune. Embiid's 0-for-6 shooting line in five minutes and change during the opening quarter was underwhelming, and perhaps disappointing, but not surprising. Embiid had a similarly slow start in his season debut last month without any recent live, in-game experience under his belt.
During his first three games in 2024-25, Embiid was far too passive. Not taking enough shots and risks has never been an issue for the former NBA MVP, but he suddenly looked tentative.
This time around, that would not be the case. Embiid was going to be assertive and hunt his own shots as often as he could and let the chips fall where they may — for better or worse. While it was surely for worse early on, his determination to find a scoring groove was an upside bet that paid off in spades. Embiid missed his first shot attempt of the second quarter, then made eight of his next 11 shots and scored 19 points.
Joel Embiid with 19 points in a DOMINANT 2nd quarter 💪 pic.twitter.com/qZcjrt7eIH
— NBA TV (@NBATV) December 8, 2024
"Certainly big turnaround from the first quarter," Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said. "Suddenly, he caught fire there, with a little bit of variety. I know it seemed like a lot of foul line jumpers, which it was, but he snuck in a roll or two, he snuck in a couple post-ups… Certainly, it gave us a lot of confidence."
The reality: Embiid was not lucky, someone does not stumble into three quarters of two-way domination in an NBA game. Things clicked for Embiid because he found familiarity. Every player and team has their bread and butter; Embiid remembered that his is operating in two-man actions with Tyrese Maxey
One byproduct of Embiid's return and eventual barrage of buckets: Maxey posting a career-high 14 assists en route to the very first triple-double of the Sixers point guard's career. Maxey and Embiid fell right back into their primary source of shared offense, where they have developed one of the best two-man games in the sport with constant picking and popping to leverage Embiid's strength and pull-up shooting ability.
"It was great. That's just who he is," Maxey said. "It's easier, man. A lot more space out there… They can't trap ball screens, you know what I mean?"
MORE: Breaking down Maxey's prior slump, more Sixers stats
After 21 games and another quarter, the Sixers finally felt like a team with an offensive identity. Embiid has demonstrated for years that an offense centered around getting him the ball at the nail surrounded by shooting threats is more than viable, and as he figures out how to play with a new cast of teammates on the fly, it only took him a quarter to find his footing in a way that he had not shown since the start of the season.
"[Tyrese] and Joel dominate the pick-and-roll," Paul George said. "I mean, that's as good as it gets right there. Those two, they were firing and they figured something out in that pick-and-roll. Any time you get [Embiid] in the middle of the floor, everybody's at his mercy."
Maxey recorded his FIRST CAREER triple-double in the Sixers W!
🔔 23 PTS
🔔 10 REB
🔔 14 AST pic.twitter.com/0YM87C39K9— NBA (@NBA) December 8, 2024
The next step for Embiid moving feared — aside from the obvious goal of being consistently healthy — will be finding similar rapports with not just George, but also rookie guard Jared McCain.
"I think [McCain] has the opportunity to get to the next level, like me and Tyrese have been, just because of his shooting ability," Embiid said. "His passing hasn't been tapped into yet, but I think he can make plays."
All of the talk about adjusting to new personnel and Embiid's acclimation to a revamped supporting cast around him is necessary. How can Embiid, Maxey and George accentuate each other's strengths simultaneously? Is Guerschon Yabusele a viable frontcourt partner for Embiid moving forward? How does newcomer Caleb Martin fit into all of this?
These answers could be answered in the near future, and the Sixers' four upcoming days off will be crucial. Nurse has already referred to the stretch as another training camp; the team will likely hold three practices before its next game.
But on a Sunday afternoon in which he felt compelled to win at all costs, Embiid got back to the basics. For Embiid, that means screening for Maxey, darting to the nail and getting ready to rise up for a jumper.
Now, as the Sixers inch closer to emerging from a cataclysmic start to the season, the team will hope for many more games in which Embiid looks dominant — or, in the words of the man himself, "lucky."
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