Sixers takeaways: Joel Embiid’s aggressiveness, Paul George’s injury, and more

Joel Embiid showed what he can do while being aggressive. Paul George and the 76ers have bad luck when it comes to injuries, and Caleb Martin must look for his own shot. Those things stood out for the Sixers in Wednesday’s 117-111 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum.

Embiid back to his dominant self

In his fourth game of the season, Embiid was very active. The 7-foot-2 center remained around the basket instead of the perimeter and crashed the boards. Playing with a nice rhythm and being in attack-mode helped him earn free throw trips.

He finished with season highs of 35 points and 11 rebounds along with two assists, one block, and a steal. Embiid went 14-for-14 from the foul line after not getting to the charity stripe in Monday’s game at the Miami Heat. Fourteen of Embiid’s points came in the third quarter.

George, Sixers can’t avoid injuries

Wednesday was supposed to be the season debut of the Sixers’ Big Three of Embiid, George, and Tyrese Maxey. But George exited the game early in the third quarter after hyperextending his left knee for the second time in over a month.

He suffered the latest injury while making contact with Memphis' Desmond Bane trying to grab a defensive rebound. George finished with two points on 1-for-6 shooting to go with four rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 17 minutes, 27 seconds of playing time.

Martin must look for his shot

Martin was a defensive terror, blocking three shots in the third quarter. The undersized forward also had four assists, three rebounds, and one steal. However, he had two points on 1-for-3 shooting, and passed up open scoring opportunities.

On two occasions, Embiid appeared to express some frustration with him for passing up easy, wide-open shots. The first one came after Embiid passed the ball to him underneath the Sixers’ basket. Instead of shooting a layup, Martin passed the ball out to Jared McCain, who missed the shot.