The headline says it all. The Sixers welcomed back franchise star Joel Embiid this weekend which almost overshadows the results of the games. The 27-year-old center only saw action in one of the team's four games over the week though, a victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night at home. Earlier on, the Sixers dropped a tough matchup to the Nuggets in Denver and salvaged a game from their season series with a rout of the Cavaliers in Cleveland. They finished off the proceedings a day after the triumph over the Wolves with an ugly home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Embiid's predictable absence in that contest was a result of the team not wanting to throw him right back into the fire of a back-to-back set after appearing in only two games since the All-Star Break.

Despite the great news of Embiid's return to the court, there was some troubling shuffling in the standings. Finishing the week 34-16 did nothing to preserve the Sixers' stranglehold on the Eastern Conference's top seed. The Brooklyn Nets (35-16) continued their own stampede over the league and finally managed to wrestle the top spot away. The Sixers do technically hold the tiebreaker currently and have a game in hand, but still, ideally they would go on a nice run to offset an impending Brooklyn slide to regain control of their own destiny. Not to mention, it wouldn't hurt to put more distance between themselves and the always looming Milwaukee Bucks (32-17).

But those things will be sorted out over the final 20ish games of the season. For now, let's take a look back at their performances over the week that was.

Tuesday, 3/30/21: Lost at Denver Nuggets 104-95

--The result of this game is not surprising. Slowing down Nikola Jokic, who might be the league's leading MVP-candidate, always figured to be a challenge no matter what. Remove Embiid from the equation, and it was an impossible ask. They did limit him to a modest game by his standards (21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists), but at the expense of letting Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. combine for 57. The Nuggets offense is absolutely terrifying, and now that they've added Aaron Gordon for a needed dose of defensive versatility (he only had 6 points, but he finished a game-high +19 in just 24 minutes), and they are a caps lock PROBLEM.

--Still, the most disheartening thing about this loss was the futility of the starting unit. Ben Simmons had the best point-differential among the opening five...with a -14. Tobias Harris--whose paltry 12 points actually led the starters--was a -29. Again, losing this game isn't difficult to justify. Beyond missing their best player, the Nuggets were at full strength and utilizing a shiny new weapon in Gordon, plus the unique advantage their home court provides in mile-high thin air that opposing rosters just aren't used to fighting through. But a competitive effort from the big names would have been nice. The Sixers never even held a single lead.

--That does, however, open things up for some shiny plus-minus statistics from the bench. Tyrese Maxey (hey, where have you been?) and his 13 points led all second-stringers, and the Sixers won the overall battle of the bench mobs 46-16. The worst point-differential among Sixers' bench players was Shake Milton and his +2. That's still pretty good. A lot of that is garbage time noise--the Nuggets led by no less than 15 points from near the end of the first quarter to the opening minutes of the fourth, and much of that time was spent on top by 20+--but hey, it looks great in the box score. And if nothing else, the final score isn't quite as unflattering as the game actually was because of their efforts.

--I spend an awful lot of these entries pointing out the Sixers' dominant nights on the glass, and for good reason--they outrebound teams very often, and sometimes by substantial margins. Even factoring in Embiid missing over one-third of the season, they sit fifth in rebounds per game with 46.2, and hold top-10 marks in both defensive rebounding rate (79.1, ninth) and offensive rebounding rate (23.9%, seventh). But to be fair, I must also point out when they don't have their best nights on the boards--like in this one, when the Nuggets hauled in every carom in sight (51 to 33 advantage). In addition to Jokic's 10, Porter (a stellar rebounding wing already in his young career) grabbed 12. Mike Scott and Dwight Howard, who started at center, both had 7 to lead the Sixers. It happens, but it still felt like a gut punch.

The flip side to this, though, is I also spend a ton of time pointing out the Sixers' struggles with turnovers, but that wasn't a problem here! They gave up the rock only 11 times while forcing the Nuggets into 20 of their own. It didn't matter much in the end obviously, but hey, I have to give credit where it's due.

--I jumped all over the starters earlier, but now I need to shine a spotlight: Simmons was particularly awful, despite his aforementioned 'lead' in point-differential among openers. He attempted only seven shots, and had more turnovers and fouls (3 each) than rebounds (2), and his playmaking was absent as well (3 assists). The team around him did not shoot well enough to boost that last stat (42.7% from the field, 31.4% from three), but...he has to play better. Doc Rivers has been on record recently saying he isn't worried about the 6'10" point guard's recent scoring struggles (12.9 points on 45.5/50.0/54.4 over his last 11 through the weekend's games), and that's fine considering his impact in so many other areas of the game. But...those impacts were nowhere to be found here. The Sixers needed a big game from ostensibly their best player with Embiid out, and they didn't get one.

Thursday, 4/1/21: Won at Cleveland Cavaliers 114-94

--All rightttt. More bench dominance, but this time in a win! Shake Milton alone outscored the Cavs' bench (27-26), and the second unit as a whole put up a stellar 65 points. Howard also enjoyed a big night (and 18-15 double-double). Matisse Thybulle put together a signature disruptive defensive performance (2 steals and 3 blocks). Neither Furkan Korkmaz (7 points on 2-for-8 shooting) nor Tyrese Maxey (6 points on 2-for-8 shooting) scored well, but they combined for seven assists. Each of those guys ended the game +11 or better. I dig it.

--Relatedly, regarding Howard--when Embiid is out and with secret-weapon Tony Bradley no longer on the roster, I guess Doc likes to play matchups with his starting center. As things stand, it'll be either Howard or Mike Scott, and this tracks. But Howard at this stage of his career is just so much more effective playing his bruising, simplified role for 15-18 minutes off the pine. Plus, when on the floor with Simmons, the floor is shrunk significantly. Scott hasn't hit his threes this year (33.3%), but he's hit them well enough in the past to bank on some positive regression, which we've actually already begun to see (38.1% over his last 23 games). True, he is nowhere near the rebounding threat Howard is, but Harris and Simmons are both plus rebounders and can help the team get out and run if they grab one. And honestly, the Sixers get utterly wrecked with Howard on the court in general (-13.96 on-off net rating), so they might as well keep it as easy as possible for him.

--55-40 margin on the glass in the Sixers' favor. THAT is more like it. I can rest easy now. And another clean game in terms of turnovers (only 9 here, which they tripled up with 27 assists). That's pretty impressive, because despite their dreadful defense overall (112.9 defensive rating, 23rd), the Cavs are fourth in the league in forcing turnovers (13.7%). Also good to see was the 15-for-37 (40.5%) performance from downtown. Double also awesome to see--nobody logged even 28 minutes. Love those easy wins. A lot of nice things here! Just ignore the quality of the competition.

--Speaking of those 3-pointers, shoutout to Seth Curry. He had a solid night on the whole (19 points on 7-for-15 shooting), but the 5-for-10 showing from deep amounted to both the most makes and attempts from 3 he's had since he missed a chunk of the early season battling the coronavirus. He has been on record saying how much he was affected by the virus, and here's hoping there are no lingering effects, first and primarily for the well-being of the man, but it has to be said how much of a gamechanger Curry is for this offense at full strength.

--The Cavaliers are an atrocious offense (dead last in the league with a 104.8 offensive rating, second worst in team effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage), but still, forcing 18 turnovers and holding them to 94 points on 42.5/28.6/76.2 shooting was nice. Collin Sexton's 24 points were dead on his average (23.9), but he was a game-worst -22. Darius Garland was completely erased (6 points on 8 shots). Take away those guys, and the Cavs have practically nothing, and it showed here.

Saturday, 4/3/21: Won v. Minnesota Timberwolves 122-113

--Joel Embiid in his first game back: 24 points on 6-for-14 shooting, 0-for-4 from three, 12-for-17 from the free throw line. He added 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and three blocks in a tidy 28-minute run. Not the mind-blowing box score figures we're used to--save for the free throws, of course--but still a solid night. And as per usual, he finished a game-high +20. He did have a hand in Karl-Anthony Towns snapping for 39 points and 14 rebounds, but that man is maybe the most complete offensive big in the sport (apologies to Jokic). Coming off a lengthy absence, struggling to contain a guy like that can be excused.

--I've made it this far without spotlighting Harris, so here we go! 32 points on a blisteringly efficient 13-for-17 shooting to go along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Curiously, his +1 was the worst point-differential among the starters, even though he only played the third most minutes. He did, however, save the best for last with a 12-point 4th quarter that helped seal the deal against a Wolves team playing with surprising spunk. Down as many as 19 late in the third, they clawed all the way back to make it a 4-point deficit late in the final frame. But Harris scored 10 in the final three minutes of the game. Good night.

--122 points on 50.6/42.9/75.7 shooting, a 126.2 team offensive rating. That looks gorgeous on the surface level. And circling back to Embiid and his 17 free throw attempts, the Sixers attempted 37 as a team. That is the effect he has. This offense is just different with him. The defense, too, of course, this lackluster effort notwithstanding. But his presence just adds a different dimension. Ben Simmons even picked things up a bit (14 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists). And Howard and Scott were able to slide down into there normal roles, which suit them much better.

--Anthony Edwards is going to be a good one. That kid is so explosive and plays with such brash overconfidence, it leads to head scratching forced plays and extreme inefficiency (27 points on 23 field goal attempts). But all of the ingredients are there for him to be a stellar offensive weapon in the mold of a Zach Lavine. He might not have the same skyscraping hops Lavine has, but he's damn close, and his scoring arsenal is much more advanced than Lavine's was at his age (he's still just 19!). LaMelo Ball was going to run away with the rookie of the year, but his injury opens things up for Edwards to snag it over the final 20-somethign games if he can just refine his game a bit more. He seems to be making major strides already--despite his season long 39.4/31.3/78.5 scoring slash being rather bleh, over his last 15 he's pouring in 24.2 on a much more palatable 43.6/33.3/76.3 line. Watch out for him.

--No minutes for Isaiah Joe, Tyrese Maxey or Paul Reed in this one. Yes they one, and at one point it looked like it would be a rout, but it wasn't the wire-to-wire type of dismantling I was hoping to see in Embiid's first game back against a less-than-stellar opponent. Would have been nice to get the kids some run to show their stuff.

Sunday, 4/4/21: Lost v. Memphis Grizzlies 116-100

--Puke Emoji. Seriously. About the only positive thing I can say about this game is that the Nets managed to lose a frustrating game too, which prevented them from opening up a 1.5 game lead on the Sixers. And that's not even a positive about THIS game. Because there isn't one. No disrespect to the Grizzlies--they're a good, young team with a quality head coach and a franchise star to build around. All the ingredients are there. But they shouldn't have come on the Sixers' homecourt and just straight up waxed them. I know it was Philly's second night of a back-to-back, and Embiid wasn't playing, and they have been on the road so much lately, and blah blah blah. Don't care. Tobias Harris gave you 21 points and the next closest starter gave you...9. And it was Mike Scott. Not Danny Green. Not Curry. Not Simmons. Mike. Scott. Your second leading scoring starter. Like I said, Puke Emoji.

--So the kids got their run in this game, largely thanks to the 29-point differential at one point in the game. That, of course, was a deficit, not an advantage. Paul Reed had a nice little 10-point, 6-board performance in a 13-minute burst. Joe got nearly ten minutes of his own, and added 6 points and 2 dimes. Maxey was out for health and safety protocols, but it doesn't appear to be serious--he should be available Tuesday--but it did cost him a valuable chance to get some burn. Notice how I bypassed any major contributing stats and went right to garbage time role players? Yep. It was one of those nights. At least the bench won again (54-50)

--The Grizzlies defined balance in this one. Not a single player reached 20 points, but seven scored in double figures. Not one of those players was Ja Morant (8 points), the centerpiece of their impressive foundation. And he finished a game-high +29 anyway. That was on the strength of his terrific playmaking (10 assists to 2 turnovers). He is so fast, so athletic, and so dynamic, and so overwhelmingly physically talented, and yet he plays with an immense feel for the game at the tender age of 21. Luka Doncic and Zion Williamson generally have the 22-and-under cornerstone conversation on lock, but this kid is right there with them. The only think lacking from his game is a consistent jumper (25.4% from three). But by all accounts, he's a mature, hardworking dude on top of his physical gifts, so bet that comes around sooner rather than later. And when that day comes, oh, Lord.

--Jonas Valanciunas was a handful. That shouldn't be surprising without Embiid. The 6'11", 265-lb Lithuanian went for 16 and 12. Howard has the bulk and heft to match up with him, and he did go for 9 and 12 of his own, but he still ended a -15, worst among bench Sixers. Another underrated trickle down effect from not having Embiid is their inability to really check other burly, skilled bigs. They did end up winning the board battle 50-49, but it meant nothing in the bigger picture of this game.

--I wonder what type of impact George Hill will have when he's finally ready to suit up? Morant is a mismatch for anyone, but Hill could at least credibly check him and spare Simmons some energy. I also wonder how delicately Embiid will really be managed for the stretch run of the season? I think getting the top-seed of the East is really important for this team, and with the Nets now overtaking them, however tenuously, I just don't know they can spare resting him much. It'll be a tricky balancing act, but they need to avoid letdowns like this.

What's Next?

After a short weekend at home, the Sixers are on the road for three games this week. On Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m., they'll be in Boston for their first and only (!) road date with the Celtics (25-25), which will also conclude the season series. They'll have a couple of days off before a weekend back-to-back down south beginning with the New Orleans Pelicans (22-27) on Friday night at 8 p.m. and ending with the Oklahoma City Thunder (20-30) Saturday night at 9 p.m.

The Celtics are struggling through a difficult season, and putting the finishing touches on a season sweep over the bitter rival in front of the Boston faithful would be a nice way to kick off a Sixers' run, don't you think? The wing tandem of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum is as good as it gets, and Marcus Smart always brings his A-game against the Sixers, but it's just been one step forward, two steps back all season long for Boston. Between significant injuries to key guards Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart, a woefully thin frontcourt, and severe defensive regression (18th in defensive rating this year after finishing 4th last year), they just haven't been able to put together a consistently solid stretch of quality play.

The Pelicans have likewise been a rollercoaster ride all season long. They started off on the wrong foot (5-10 through their first 15 games) and have mostly alternated wins and losses since. But this is still a talented young team led by a force unlike any other in the sport in 6'7", 284-lb point forward Zion Williamson. Elected to the first of what should be many All-Star teams this season, the 20-year-old is averaging 26.4 points on staggering efficiency (62.9 eFG%, 66.2 TS%) despite the relative predictability of his scoring arsenal. Where he has made the most impact, though, is as a ballhandler--3.5 assists don't leap off the page, but over his last 25 games, that average is 4.3, and the advanced feel he demonstrates moving the rock is impressive, particularly when supported by Lonzo Ball (5.6 assists) and Brandon Ingram (4.7). That trio plays off of each other extremely well, and containing them may be a challenge.

The Thunder are rewriting the books on how to tank. They have gathered an enormous volume of draft picks over the coming years by taking on undesirable contracts and parting with helpful veterans to contending rosters (the Sixers know both fronts very well--see Horford, Al; Green, Danny; and Hill, George). They are still a pesky opponent, though, and if the Sixers aren't careful, they could be caught sleeping. However, without young star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is nursing a foot injury, and Horford, who they shut down for the season, they might struggle to put up points at all against the Sixers. Take away those two, and they don't have a player averaging even 13.0 points.