HOUSTON — When Joel Embiid gets more playing time, he’s really going to be something.
In Monday’s 115-88 loss to the Rockets at Toyota Center, Embiid was the only Sixer who had a positive effect, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds in 22:31. He was 6 of 10 from the field.
Embiid has provided hope during the Sixers' 1-9 start to the season. On Monday, he became the first rookie to record his second double-double of the season.
“You look at the box score and you look at the plus-minus in a game that was lopsided, Joel still comes out with a plus-3 and that’s with six turnovers,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said. “You’re seeing something very unique in Joel Embiid.
“I look forward to the day when you can play him a lot more minutes than we are able to right now.”
The Sixers are bringing the 22-year-old Embiid around slowly. After two years of foot operations, Embiid is being limited to around 24 minutes a game.
In seven games, Embiid is averaging 18.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in 22.1 minutes.
NBA
“He is the anchor of our defense, the focal part of our offense,” Brown said. “Those types of things having him lead us in. We continue to see really good things from him.”