Another concerning performance vs the Rockets Friday night.
Embiid played a very lack luster game, routinely being beaten down the floor and looking gassed. I've seen zero improvement in his conditioning or stamina during and between games. This was again supposedly the main focus for his offseason. And yet reporters never ask Embiid or Brown or Brand about it. It is a strange situation.
Horford continues to struggle with this team on both ends of the floor. I wonder if he is injured, but there have also been comments from him expressing confusion about his role and he is among several that questioned accountability - one of the major reasons he was signed was to provide better leadership and help Embiid and Simmons to step up. I've not seen evidence of that since his arrival unfortunately. His defense has also been inconsistent and teams have started to target him with pick & rolls.
Mike Scott is floundering mightily. His shooting is way off, his defense weak and he really does not provide any rebounding or play making abilities to balance out his flaws. If he shoots well, he can be effective off the bench, but that is not the case now.
The bright spot was Simmons Friday night - even though he continues to refuse to shoot and is still stuck below 60% from the foul line, he attacked the rim consistently, worked well with Richardson on pick & rolls, pushed the transition pace and played strong defense.
