The Philadelphia 76ers’ miserable season continued on Monday night in the form of a 106-89 loss to the Miami Heat. The loss drops Philly to 2-11 on the year, and of the many issues plaguing the team, Joel Embiid’s play is the most concerning.
The MVP big man returned from a knee injury and suspension last week to make his season debut and is clearly still working on getting himself back into shape. Embiid has struggled every night he has been on the court and has shown few flashes of the dominant two-way play that has earned him much praise and success over the years. This troubling trend continued Monday night and led to Embiid putting together a rather impressive personal streak that reflects the bleak state of affairs.
His 11-point performance against the Heat marked the first game in six years Embiid didn’t make a free throw. Throughout his career, the center averaged 10 free throws per game. Moreover, Monday’s game was only the second game in his entire career. Embiid didn’t make a free throw.
For the first time since 2018, Joel Embiid didn’t make a free throw in a game
Embiid has had at least one free throw attempt in every game he has played in aside from TWO. pic.twitter.com/dlF5D0eXvf
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 19, 2024
On the night, Embiid had 11 points on 11 shots and went -22 in 31 minutes of play.
The Sixers are reeling and need Embiid to get back to his old self to right the ship. Including regular trips to the charity stripe. A stat to keep an eye on as he continues to get into better shape.