The absence of James Harden appeared to affect Embiid more than any other player. Harden led the league in assists last season and delivered half of those passes to the Sixers center.
Joel Embiid finished the Sixers' season-opening loss with 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists, but struggled to find a rhythm on offense.But no one would blame him for saying otherwise.
“I thought we gave a great effort,” Nurse said, “and we played extremely hard. ... We did some really good things. We didn’t certainly some assignments and scheme stuff we missed. But that’s going to happen right now. But reigning MVP Joel Embiid had a rough night. Playing without Harden might have affected his game the most.
Defensively, the Sixers adjusted to defending Damian Lillard after he got out to a hot start. But the All-NBA guard still hit big shots down the stretch. The Bucks acquired Lillard on Sept. 27 from the Portland Trail Blazers in a three-time deal that included the Phoenix Suns.
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