Joel Embiid’s return brings hope and hype back to the Sixers’ season

Ignore the standings. Forget the losses. Overlook the injuries.

Even disregard the third-quarter scoring droughts that frequently occur during games.

After spending the first three weeks of the NBA season mired in substandard play, the 76ers have emerged from hibernation and re-entered the national spotlight.

Joel Embiid’s return places them back on their perch as the league’s most intriguing team. It’s a franchise that will, once again, become an NBA title favorite if the star trio of Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey maintain a clean bill of health.

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Embiid will return Tuesday in a much-anticipated NBA Cup game against the Atlantic Division rival New York Knicks. His season debut has the potential to elevate the Sixers’ confidence and fill the Wells Fargo Center with hope, hype, and excitement.

“Everybody has been more than excited to have him back,” said Andre Drummond, who started at center the first nine games with Embiid out. “He looks good. He looks ready.”

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The return of the 7-foot-2 center will make the Sixers (2-7) a deeper squad. Drummond will return to his backup center role. Guerschon Yabusele, who had been the backup center, will slide to his more natural power forward role. And guys like guard Eric Gordon will shift their focus to being floor spacers.

We’ll also finally get a sneak peak at Embiid’s pairing with George, his new perennial All-Star teammate. But we won’t get a complete idea of what the Sixers can do until Maxey, the third member of the Big Three, returns from a strained right hamstring.

The Sixers’ NBA championship hopes start with Embiid, the franchise player. His presence can be the difference between an exciting season and a tie with the Utah Jazz for the NBA’s third-worst record. His return provides a sense of relief for a team ranked last in the league in rebounding (39.4 per game), 28th in free-throw percentage (.739), 27th in scoring (107 ppg) and 26th in field-goal percentage (. 435).

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“Obviously, we’re not where we want to be without the big fella,” George said. “You know, someone as talented as him, and, obviously, he’s the piece …

“We should still be playing at a high level, trying to win games. But no doubt about it, you get somebody back like that, it will make everybody’s job a little easier.”

If the Sixers follow their plan, the two-time scoring champion and seven-time All-Star will miss Wednesday’s home game against the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers. Embiid has already said he won’t play in both matchups for games scheduled on back-to-back nights.

As a result, he’ll miss at least 15 more games as part of the Sixers’ load-management plan.

But for now, the question is how rusty Embiid will be Tuesday after missing the entire preseason and the first nine games. Embiid sat out six contests for what the team called left knee injury management and served a three-game suspension for shoving Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes in the Sixers’ locker room on Nov. 2.

“We are looking forward to getting that fresh restart with some of our main guys coming back,” Drummond said. “ … So a lot to look forward to.”

Like the Sixers, the Knicks (4-5) are expected to challenge the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics for the Eastern Conference title. However, New York is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference after losing three of its last four games.

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Sunday’s 132-121 road setback to the Pacers came after the Knicks pummeled Indiana by 25 points at home in their second game of the season.

New York‘s struggles have nothing to do with its All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns’ offense. The 7-footer has scored 30 or more points in each of the Knicks’ last three games. Towns is averaging 24.9 points and 12.3 rebounds while shooting 53.7% on three-pointers after being acquired in a blockbuster preseason trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

However, as a contesting defender, the New Jersey native is allowing opponents to shoot 32-for-35 (91.4%) in the restricted arena.

Sources have said that Embiid has been working hard in preparation for his return. And his teammates have raved about how he has looked in practice.

So what can we expect out of him moving forward?

“It’s Joel Embiid, man,” Drummond said. “Of course, he’s going to dominate. Come on now!”