Joel Embiid Has Rare Struggle in 76ers' Tough Loss vs Miami Heat

Monday night in Miami featured an odd situation for Joel Embiid.

Nov 18, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) looks on against the Miami Heat during the third quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia 76ers fell short against the Miami Heat on the road Monday night. Going into the game, the Sixers believed they might be without the services of their seven-time All-Star, Joel Embiid.

According to the team’s injury report, Embiid is dealing with an illness. He was downgraded to questionable on the eve of the matchup. On Monday morning, Embiid was downgraded again, getting listed as doubtful to face the Heat.

While it seemed Embiid was on pace to miss Monday’s action in Miami, that wasn’t the case. The big man went through his pregame warmup routine with the idea of potentially playing. Sure enough, the Sixers cleared him for action.

Lately, Embiid’s been dealing with a minutes restriction since he returned for his season debut last week. On Monday, he checked in for 31 minutes of action. The star center struggled to have his usual offensive impact on the game. A lot of that likely had to do with his inability to get to the free-throw line.

Oftentimes, Embiid is a frequent visitor to the charity stripe. Throughout his career, he's averaged ten free throws per game/ On Monday, the Sixers’ big man did something that hasn’t been done in nearly seven years—he went through a whole game without a single foul shot.

Joel Embiid: 31 minutes, no free throw attempts. It has been nearly seven years since he has gone an entire game without stepping to the free throw line. https://t.co/UD5vjzfECc

— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) November 19, 2024

An early February matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans in 2018 featured a zero free-throw Embiid outing. He failed to get to the line in 24 minutes of action.

The difference then? Embiid was still pretty productive in limited time. In 24 minutes, Embiid accounted for 24 points. He made over 60 percent of his field goals with a double-double in a blowout victory.

On Monday, Embiid checked in for 31 minutes. He scored 11 points on 45 percent shooting. Along with his scoring, Embiid came down with eight rebounds and dished out five assists.

The Sixers lost to the Heat 106-89.

Prior to Monday’s game, Embiid made just two appearances on the court for the Sixers this year. He averaged 16 points on 27 percent shooting during that small stretch. While slow starts aren’t foreign to Embiid, who is working his way back after a long offseason, the state of the Sixers makes the big man’s struggles more worrisome early on.

The 76ers will get Tuesday off to travel before they meet with the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.