Joel Embiid plans to lift, get stronger with Sixers having 4 days off
PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers were able to pick up a 105-98 win over the Utah Jazz at home on Sunday thanks to a heroic performance by Joel Embiid. The big fella poured in a career-high 59 points with 11 rebounds, eight assists, and he tied his career-high with seven blocks.
Embiid played 36:41 on Sunday after he played 40 minutes in a win over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. The big fella left it all out on the floor, and now, he will have four days off before the Sixers play again when they host the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
When asked about what his plan is during the time off, the big man revealed he wants to get stronger and put work in the gym.
“Lift and get stronger,” said Embiid. “Get stronger. The season is about to be fun. I don’t know when we’re getting James (Harden) back, we can’t wait to have him back, but as a team, I think we’re starting to find our way. Defensively, we’ve been so good as a team, and then offensively, the Phoenix game. We played such great defense, but we only scored 100 points.”
The Sixers do have to continue to figure out how they’re going to run some smooth offense, but they were able to pick up two wins over the Atlanta Hawks and the Jazz over the weekend. The Hawks are a tough team in the East while the Jazz have been playing great basketball to begin the season.
Those are two wins that the Sixers can build off despite the offense being a little up and down in both games.
“Then that Atlanta game, we struggled offensively, but the last two games—even tonight (Sunday),” Embiid added. “We just missed a lot of wide-open shots and layups, but I thought offensively, we’re just moving the ball, we’re just starting to find our rhythm. Obviously, we just gotta go back to being efficient.”
Sunday was a strange game for Philadelphia. Obviously, Embiid had a helluva night, but the Sixers missed a lot of easy looks at the basket. Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris had a tough time finishing at the rim on Sunday and until Harden comes back, they have to be better on the floor. That is what the next four days will consist of for the team.
“All of us, whether it’s me, Tyrese, Tobias, everybody on the team, but I think we’re starting to see what works and what doesn’t,” Embiid finished. “We just gotta keep getting better every single day.”
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Sixers star Joel Embiid goes into detail about career night in win over Jazz
