By: Kylan Watson

                The Philadelphia 76ers debut a new pairing on the floor on Friday night, Sixers head coach, Brett Brown put  star rookie center Joel Embiid and power forward Jahlil Okafor on the floor at the same time. This pairing was about the only thing that went well for the Sixers, as they were blown out on their home floor by the Orlando Magic by a score of 105-88.

The pair debut in the second quarter, and they went on to score twelve points during the quarter, that also was the only points the Sixers scored during the quarter. Okafor just got off of minutes restriction, and Embiid is still on a minutes restriction, but the Sixers increased his minutes to 28. Usually Okafor subs in for Embiid, when he needs a rest, and Embiid subs in for Okafor when he needs one. This is the first time this season both have played on the same floor together.

The Sixers it seems are finally figuring out that they have something in the two big men and they need to play together. Embiid and Okafor are both still working their way back after surgeries during the offseason, but if the Sixers play this right they can have something that hasn’t been seen, since the Spurs in the late 90’s. The Spurs had a big man duo of David Robinson and Tim Duncan. The Spurs enjoyed a dominant decade of wins and a couple of championships.  The Sixers are definitely working towards starting to pair together.

Last night’s game may have been disappointing for Sixers fans; the team now has a 4-15 record which would be the worst record in the league, if the Dallas Mavericks were not 3-15. However, Sixers fans should be encouraged as this may be the last year that the Sixers will be an awful team, with them looking to put Embiid and Okafor on the floor at the same time, and the imminent arrival of first round pick Ben Simmons, next month.  The Sixers will be a good team in a couple of years, fans need to be patient and grow with this team.