BOSTON–The Philadelphia 76ers welcomed MVP Joel Embiid back to the lineup on Wednesday in Game 2 against the Boston Celtics looking to take a 2-0 lead with them back to the City of Brotherly Love.
That didn’t happen as Embiid had a tough time finding an offensive groove and the Sixers shot only 6-for-30 on triples in a 121-87 loss on the road. The big fella had 14 points on 4-for-9 shooting with three rebounds and he blocked five shots in his first action since April 20 against the Brooklyn Nets in Round 1.
After the loss, the Sixers gave their reaction to Embiid’s return and they discussed how he looked out on the floor.
Coach Doc Rivers on how Embiid looked
“Rusty. Early on, I thought he got out of rhythm a couple of times and I thought we were out of rhythm as well, but we expected that. We knew there was going to have to be some type of growing pains bringing him back. I’m glad we got it out of the way early on.”
james Harden on Embiid
“It was good to see the big fella back out there on the court. Obviously, the results weren’t very good. There’s a lot of things that we’ve got to control, and we’ll be watching the film and getting better. Off the top of my head, loose balls, 50/50 basketballs, it feels like they got every single one, which led to shots for them, the majority of them 3s. Our spacing offensively wasn’t great. We just didn’t generate enough really good shots and they did.”
Tobias Harris
“Obviously, he’s battling and coming back from an injury. I’m not making excuses for him, but playoffs, second round, intensity, physicality … all those things (go) up. For him, I think he got out there and was just really trying to feel himself out and see what felt right for him. Obviously, he’s not 100 percent, but at the end of the day, he’s out there and he’s giving his all, and that’s all we can ask for. Game 3, I think he’ll have even more of a comfort level out there and you’ll see him be as dominant as he can be.”
Rivers on if he liked how Embiid looked physically
“Yeah, I thought he moved fine. I thought there were several times that he had matchups that he was looking to pass. Especially, early in the game, he was really trying to defer. We really don’t want him to do that, but I get it so I’m not that concerned by it.”
Embiid on his conditioning
“I was a bit surprised. Yesterday (Tuesday) was the first time I really did something going up and down in two weeks so I was pretty surprised at that, but I said it all year, I’ve grown a lot and I found ways to take care of myself and kinda know what to do. Obviously, there’s nothing like actually playing a game and finding your rhythm and going up and down so at times, you kinda feel tired, but I thought tonight was fine. It should be better as every day goes on.”
Embiid on any percentage he’d give his body
“There’s no excuses. I’m out here so I’m good. I’m good to play. We just gotta be better as a team. Like I said, we didn’t execute what we were supposed to do and they played freely all night. They got whatever they wanted. As far as me, like I said, I’m good.”
Story originally appeared on Sixers Wire
