Sixers have ‘a new challenge’ — proving they can win without Joel Embiid

The Sixers hope to avoid dropping to 0-5 without the reigning MVP, who will miss a second consecutive game with a sprained right ankle, when they face the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

Sixers center Joel Embiid high-fives his teammates during player introductions before the Sixers played the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 15.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Keith Pompey

Published Dec. 27, 2023, 5:00 a.m. ET

ORLANDO, Fla. — The 76ers eventually found a way to win without Joel Embiid the previous two seasons.

Yet, they’re 0-4 when the reigning MVP doesn’t play this season. And the Sixers (20-9) hope to avoid dropping to 0-5 without him when they face the Orlando Magic on Wednesday at the Kia Center.

It will be the second consecutive game Embiid will miss with a sprained right ankle.

“I said this is going to be a super valuable learning week for us,” said coach Nick Nurse following Tuesday’s practice. “We learned a lot last night [in a 119-113 road loss to the Miami Heat]. We need to evaluate where some of these guys are.

“Sometimes, they don’t get as many chances or things like that, rightly so, when Joel is out there. This is a chance for those guys to grow and learn for us as [coaches] to evaluate, fix some things, do some other things. I’m mostly talking about individually. See where guys are individually.”

One has to wonder if the Sixers will opt to give Mo Bamba his first start of the season against the Magic, his former team. Bamba did extra film study on the court at the conclusion of practice. This came one day after the 7-foot, 231-pounder finished with a season-best 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting — including 3 of 3 on three-pointers — in a season-high 25 minutes, 31 seconds off the bench. Bamba also had six rebounds and two steals.

Meanwhile, Paul Reed, who started in place of Embiid, struggled to stay out of foul trouble. Reed had four points, two rebounds, and five fouls in 17:27.

“It’s an excellent time of year for us to go through this tough week,” Nurse said. “But we need some growth out of it at the end of it, you know what I mean?”

Tyrese Maxey also must grow his game when Embiid is sidelined.

The standout point guard has struggled to find his groove without the six-time All-Star. On Monday, he finished with 12 points on 4-for-20 shooting. He made just one of his eight three-point attempts. Maxey was held scoreless on 0-for-9 shooting in the first half.

He’s averaging 20.3 points in his three games played without Embiid. He’s also shooting 37.5% from the field, including making just 4 of 23 three-point attempts (17.3%) in those games.

The Sixers were outplayed in their first two games without Embiid.

Both opponents — the New Orleans Pelicans and Minnesota Timberwolves — built commanding first-quarter leads by attacking the paint in Embiid’s absence.

The Timberwolves led 37-20 at the conclusion of the first quarter on 60% shooting en route to the 112-99 victory on Nov. 22 at the Target Center. The Pelicans took a 39-24 lead into the second quarter on 78.7% shooting. New Orleans ended up winning,124-114, on Nov. 29 at the Smoothie King Center.

The Sixers played well in a 125-119 loss to the Boston Celtics two days later without Embiid, Maxey, and Nic Batum. However, on Monday the Heat scored 50 points in the paint and outrebounded the Sixers, 56-36. Miami led 13-5 in offensive rebounds.

Heat center Bam Adebayo finished with 26 points along with game highs of 15 rebounds and three blocks.

“We just have to adapt to each other on the floor, figure out different actions, different lineups that work well,” said Tobias Harris. “He’s such a pivotal piece of the offense, we have to be able to go out there and figure out a balance and also know an identity.”

Harris believes the Sixers need to use their guard’s quickness and the team’s length to their advantage.

“Let’s run, defend,” he said. “We got to play a whole lot faster. I thought yesterday was a fast paced game. But that’s got to be our dandy when we don’t have big fella to get a lot of easy baskets and get in transition.”

The Sixers also need to defend at a high level without finding their identity.

Embiid is still back in the Philadelphia area receiving treatment for a sprained right ankle. His status for Friday’s game against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center has yet to be determined.

Meanwhile, Batum will also remain sidelined with a right hamstring strain. The injury has kept him out the past three games.

Embiid sprained his ankle in the first quarter of Friday’s 121-111 victory over the Toronto Raptors at Wells Fargo Center. He remained in the game, finishing with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. During his dominant performance, Embiid grimaced in pain and played with a noticeable limp.

He turned his ankle while landing on a Raptor player’s foot on a defensive play. Embiid ended up flipping to the court before going to the bench during a timeout.

“I think you guys saw it, and it turned on him pretty good,” Nurse said of the injury. “I think that with him continuing to play on it with the amount of minutes he played on it, it gives you reason to be optimistic. But those things overnight, it’s always the next day where you need to start evaluating and figuring it out.”

The six-time All-Star did not practice with teammates Saturday. At the time, coach Nurse said there was some swelling.

“But again, kind of like I said yesterday,” Nurse added, “I think he’s getting treatment. Obviously, he’s not here, but he’s on the court today moving. So I think we’re not too far away.”

The 7-2, 280-pound center is averaging a league-best 35.0 points per game. He’s fifth in rebounding (11.7) and ninth in blocks (2.0). In addition, he’s averaging a career-best 6.0 assists.

“We have a very deep roster of people who can play at a high level,” said Kelly Oubre Jr. “It’s about consistency. … So tomorrow’s a new challenge for us to show we can win without Jo. And we’ll see what happens.”