Joel Embiid said the 8-1 Philadelphia 76ers are “not close to where we need to be” after a 112-106 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night, and he put part of that on his own shooting.
Embiid had 26 points and 15 rebounds on 8-of-18 shooting and made all 10 of his free throws. He went 0 for 3 from 3-point range.
“Efficiency is still not there,” he said. “So many easy ones that I miss.”
He entered the game shooting 40.7% from the field and 13% from deep. “Tonight might have been the last three I have to take,” Embiid said.
He said his game is still coming around and that “once I do,” it “takes us on another level.”
Embiid also drew a technical foul late in the first half after a review showed he started a shoving match with Pistons center Tolu Smith.
Embiid praised Jaylen Brown, who scored a season-high 30 and blocked Cade Cunningham’s 3-point try with 37 seconds left and Detroit down six.
“He was aggressive,” Embiid said. “That’s what he needs to do every night.”
Embiid said Brown has been “seamless” since arriving in Philadelphia. “Having played against him all these years,” he said Brown has “been himself.”
He singled out the bench. “Dean comes in, does his job at a very, very high level,” Embiid said of Dean Wade. “He’s just a very high IQ basketball player.”
Adem Bona scored five points in 15 minutes, including a three-point play set up by LeBron James. “The last couple games, he’s picked it up,” Embiid said. “Extremely proud of him.”
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a 3-pointer among his five points. Embiid called him a veteran who “knows how to play” and said he “hit a big shot when they went on the run.”
He tied the early success to chemistry. “You can see the fun we’re having off the court,” Embiid said. “That goes a long way.”
Philadelphia’s only loss came at home against Detroit, which leads the Central Division at 6-2. Embiid called Cunningham, who had 26 points and 11 assists, “an extremely tough matchup for anybody.”
Still, he played down the revenge angle. “You want to focus on yourself as much as possible,” Embiid said. “You take the wins as they come.”
The Sixers play at Cleveland in an NBA Cup game Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
