What To Take From Sixers Season Opener Against Thunder

Sixers Players Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, Sergio Rodriguez and Jerami Grant/Nik Stauskas

The Philadelphia 76ers opened their season and essentially the 2nd Stage of "The Process" last night at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Unfortunately, there are two national headlines regarding last nights game and neither of them involve the team.  Singer Sevyn Streeter was to sing National Anthem but was pulled due to breaching of contract wearing a "We Matter" shirt and a local Urologist sitting court side Double-birded and screamed "F@#$ You" unnecessarily to Thunder Super Star Russell Westbrook after a fantastic play on his part.  Blah, Blah, Blah, I don't care about any of that so that's all you'll get on that from me.  The Sixers came out strong taking a commanding lead against the favored Thunder and were able to slightly maintain a slight lead throughout most of the game until the final minutes.  In the end Westbrook and the Thunder were able to capture the lead in the last two minutes and won the game 103-97, but that's not the basis of this column.  Below I'll display what I took away from last night's tough, but mostly positive loss to the Thunder

• JOEL "THE PROCESS" EMBIID was absolutely stellar in his long-awaited Sixers debut! - Where do I begin with Joel Embiid?  Last night was Embiid's first official regular season game with the Sixers, after being drafted by the team in 2014, and boy was it worth the wait!  Embiid said before the game that he was nervous playing in his first regular season game, but to me it didn't show.  He fed off of a packed Wells Fargo Center and the crowd fed off of him as well.  Embiid brought an energy on the court that has been missing in Philly for a while and regardless of where the Sixers are in the standings throughout the season he has made this team a must watch.  Embiid was very focused as well as very entertaining throughout the game, which to me is a quality that is hard to find and gives him the potential to be a star in this league.  Now Head Coach Brett Brown and the Sixers staff have made it very clear that Embiid will be on a minutes restriction this season as the team wants to make sure Embiid's foot heals as it should.  As the season progresses and if Embiid does not show any wear or tear in health, his minutes per game will go up, but last night he played just about 22 minutes when he was slated to play 20 and it was the best 22 minutes of basketball this city has seen from one player since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson!  Embiid had a monster game for being on a minutes restriction(22 Minutes) with a stat line of: 20 PTS (6/16 FG) (7/8 FT) (1/3 3PFG) 7 REB, and 2 Blocks (SWAT, SWAT!)...Embiid also had 4 TO (turnovers) but that number has actually from the beginning of the preseason.  The debut of Embiid finally gave solace to all of the "Processers" who never gave up on Sam Hinkie's vision, even after he was essentially forced out by the team as Embiid has taken on the moniker in self-appointing himself as "The Process" and he has done us and Hinkie so very proud in just one game! 

• Sergio Rodriguez took the game into his hands when he needed to. - "El Chacho", which translates to "The dude" in Spanish, is a great way to describe Sergio Rodriguez's play in his Sixers debut.  Rodriguez had what I would call an exciting yet shaky preseason for the Sixers as he turned over the ball a good amount but last night was a different story!  El Chacho's stat line read: 12 PTS (5/11 FG) (2/6 3PFG), 4 REB, 9 AST, and 0 Turnovers.  I was very impressed with Rodriguez last night as he played solid Point Guard last night, cleaned up some of his mistakes from the preseason, and lead this young team when they needed to look to someone to control the game.  He may not have games like last night where he didn't turn the ball over but he should continue to be a strong facilitator with this young band of talent as we await Ben Simmons' Sixers debut!

• Can Nik Stauskas actually play?!?!?! - I was a very big believer in Nik Stauskas before he came into the league as he was a sharp 3-point shooting Canadian who was a big contributor for the University of Michigan Wolverines.  In the 2014 draft, same draft as Embiid and Saric, the Kings took "Sauce Castillo" 8th overall and traded him away to the Sixers after a disappointing rookie year.  Ever since he got here he had been a major disappointment, not being able to connect on his many 3-point attempts but we saw a much different Sauce last night as he put up 13 PTS on 5/6 FG and was a difference maker on the floor for the Sixers.  Now it is only one game and I am not going to get ahead of myself but he looked much more aggressive as he put the ball on the floor and drove to the basket for most of his points.  We'll see how he plays, but if he can actually be a player for this team it will be a breath of fresh air for the kid who was once regarded as a great shooter in college!

• Richaun Holmes could take Nerlens Noel's place on this team - Richaun Holmes in flashes throughout his short career has shown that he can bring a different energy off the bench for this squad in their crowded front court.  In limited time last night Holmes scored 6 PTS and filled Noel's spot in defensive presence by grabbing 3 REB and denying the Thunder with 3 Blocks.  I have always admired Noel's defensive presence for this team and had always preferred him to Jahlil Okafor in regards to the crowded front court but with Free Agency looming for Noel it might be beneficial to ship Noel and bring in Holmes more often than not to replace Noel's defensive presence.

• "The Homie" Dario Saric(Rookie) and 2nd-year Big Man Jahlil Okafor did not have great games but don't worry! - Dario Saric had an excellent preseason for the most part for the Sixers but in last nights game I felt he pressed too much in forcing up some shots at times when he shouldn't have but he did show the hustle and aggressiveness that will translate to being a great 6th man in this league and for this team eventually!  Saric can be a decent scorer in this league but is more of an all-around player who does everything else well and it showed in his stat line as he shot just 2/12 FG for 5 pts BUT had 7 REB and 2 AST.  Give it time, he will work on his clutch 3-point shooting as he relaxes and catches up to the speed of the NBA game.  Now Jahlil Okafor, who I am not the biggest fan of did play decent for someone coming off of knee surgery as he scored 8 PTS on 4/10 shooting while grabbing 3 REB and getting 1 Block.  I think Okafor as he gets his knee fully back under him will play much better offensively but I think he needs to work on his rebounding and defense or as I mentioned above Richaun Holmes could eat up some more of his big man minutes.

•  Ben Simmons spoke for the first time last night, after having surgery on his foot.  1st Overall pick in the 2016 NBA, Ben Simmons was supposed to make his debut alongside Embiid and the Sixers last night, but that dream fell short due to a foot injury on the last day of training camp that should sideline him at least 3 months.  Simmons was in attendance on the bench for the squad showing his support last night and before the game spoke with the media on his current state.  There were rumors after Simmons' injury that his agent wanted to hold him out of the season entirely even though he would be able to at least play the second half of the season when healed, but as Simmons sat at the podium before last nights tip-off he stated he would be on the court as soon as he's told by his physicians that he can go out there and play.  We are used to injuries on this team and we are used to delays so we will see what happens, so I cannot say this was 100% confirmed by Simmons last night even though he has the best intentions, but all we can do as a fan base is hope to see Simmons with these other young stars ASAP so we can see what the future holds because we've been patiently waiting long enough!

#TrustTheProcess