NEW YORK -- When one looks at the stat line for Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid in the team's 106-100 win over the defending champion New York Knicks on Tuesday, not a lot really stands out. He shot just 4-for-15, scored 13 points, and committed four turnovers, but he also grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out six assists, and blocked three shots.
Embiid looked like he was moving well on the defensive end of the floor for the first time in a long while. He has obviously been able to stay healthy all summer, so he was able to work on his body rather than rehab any lingering injury. Him blocking three shots along with deterring a lot of the Knicks from getting to the basket was a big help for this group.
"I felt good," Embiid said after the win. "I think this year’s going to be back to All-Defensive Team like in the past. So, felt good. Moving great. Felt like I was all over the place, so I need to do that every game."
Embiid has such a high basketball IQ and he made a suggestion at the half that the Sixers should put LeBron James on Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns. With Embiid dealing with foul trouble, coach Nick Nurse took Embiid's suggestion to heart and switched the big fella onto Josh Hart while James took on the Towns assignment.
"It changes everything," Embiid said of moving James onto Towns. "I had three fouls. I suggested that to the guys, the coaching staff, because I just felt like the way they were calling fouls, I just felt like I wasn't – and I was just being honest – I wasn't going to be as aggressive as I should be on defense, having three fouls, wanting to stay on the floor. I just told them I thought we should do that. It was great."
Embiid and James, obviously, played together on Team USA in the 2024 Olympics and the two have a great chemistry together as a duo. They understand what needs to be done and the two stars are going to continue pushing forward. Having James alongside Embiid helps make his life easier on the defensive end and he can take on assignments that will allow him to take a breather at times.
"That's another big body that's able to guard the post," Embiid explained. "PJ Tucker was the last one that we had who could do that, that can switch off and guard those bigger guys in the post. Last year we had PG (Paul George), but PG, he did a great job, but he's a little light. So, having Bron, we did that in the Olympics, we've done that in the past, that's a good thing to kind of, change a little bit as far as – especially what you're going against."
With that being said, it's the first game. There are still 81 more of these to go. Embiid knows and understands that the Sixers still have a long ways to go to figure everything out for the future.
"Obviously first game, started a little slow, but we picked it up, especially defensively, in that third quarter," Embiid finished. "That just gives you a look at what we can become. So kind of tapped into that from the first game. But that was great. I mean, everyone was all over the place, and that was great to see."
The Sixers will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the home opener on Thursday.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Joel Embiid reacts to first game after 76ers knock off champion Knicks