By: Kylan Watson

The Philadelphia 76ers had their first home game of the 2023-2024 season against the Portland Trailblazers. Unlike the Sixers, Portland did not play last night. However, despite the rest disadvantage Philly was still able to drop buckets tonight thanks to Joel Embiid who had another thirty piece to lead Philly to the 126-98 victory.

Philly was feeling the effects of playing last night as they could not hit their shots early on and it seemed like the Blazers plan was to run them off the court. They were successful in getting out to an early lead, but the Sixers were able to finally find the bottom of the net thanks to Joel Embiid. He decided to impose his will throughout this game and end the Trailblazers hopes of pulling off an upset. Embiid scored 35-points, grabbed 15-rebounds, seven-assists, and had six-blocks. This was his most dominant game of the season so far. An active and energetic Joel Embiid is a great thing for the Sixers and today was an especially great activity day for him. If he can continue to play energetically and continue his fast start along with a surging Tyrese Maxey, and a rejuvenated Tobias Harris the Sixers can be a dominant team in the loaded Eastern Conference.  Additionally, this was another game where his playmaking was on full display and if this continues the Sixers will be one of the most multi-faceted offenses in the league.

The Blazers continued to fight throughout this game, Shaedon Sharpe led them in this game. He scored 20-points, and the Sixers could really do nothing to stop him throughout this game. He got whatever he wanted from the floor, and it did not matter who was in front of him. Sharpe made them pay for giving him any room to get a shot off. However, the Sixers were able to prevent their teammates from going off and that was a big factor in helping them pull away from the Blazers and putting this game away.

Now the Sixers will get a few days off as they prepare to face the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night. They will need to continue to use their ball movement to get high-percentage shots especially against a stingy and aggressive Toronto defensive scheme. Additionally, Philly will need to stay attached to Toronto’s shooters if they want to avoid another three-point barrage from the Raptors. If they implement these things, they should be able to get their third win of the season.