NBA
Joel Embiid Battles Illness While Blanking on Free Throws in Another Disastrous Philadelphia 76ers Loss
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All posts by Charlie RhodesUpdated19 Nov 2024
It was another miserable night for the Philadelphia 76ers who fell to their 11th defeat of the season, with Joel Embiid enduring another tough performance after zero free throw attempts.
Joel Embiid Free Throw Streak Ends After Five Years
A ninth loss in 10 games condemned the 76ers to another meagre night on the road as they failed to put up 90 points for a second straight game.
The night began with much promise for Philly after racing into a slender lead at the conclusion of the first quarter, but the Heat were too hot to handle.
Jimmy Butler returned to the starting lineup, and the 35-year-old tapped into a vein of form we have scarcely seen so far this season as he put up 30 points, ten rebounds, five assists and one steal.
2023 MVP Joel Embiid even went as far as labelling Butler as “probably the best player” in the NBA following a nostalgic performance.
The same can not be said for Embiid himself however, who has struggled since his season debut last week and was reportedly battling illness in Monday night’s crushing defeat.
Whether that had a bearing on what turned out to be another dire evening for Embiid is unclear – but after missing out on nine regular season games with a knee problem and suspension for shoving a columnist – he was predicted to return and pull the franchise out from the mire.
Joel Embiid this season pic.twitter.com/eYHTMUNXPw
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) November 19, 2024
Instead, he scored just 11 points on 5-11 shooting from the field in 31 minutes. However, more pertinently, Embiid attempted zero foul shots on a night where Miami drove at the 76ers defense all evening.
“I took zero free throws, so that must be a first,” Embiid told reporters. “That’s actually crazy.”
Indeed, it has been 2,474 to the day since Embiid last featured in a game and didn’t attempt a free throw – a streak dating back to February 2018.
76ers coach Nick Nurse said in the aftermath: “I think he’s [Joel Embiid], obviously, not in rhythm, and really rusty. I feel like he’s got ways to go to get into rhythm.
“I mean, I think he’s not that comfortable out there, right? He’s got a bunch of new guys out there to try to figure out what’s going on. And that’s going to take some time.”
The defeat means Philadelphia have still not won with Embiid in the starting lineup this season.
