The last image of Joel Embiid playing with the 76ers was him gritting his way ... out of game shape and timid in what was his first game since helping Team USA win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 11. Embiid finished with 13 points, three ...

"He is the piece. He is The Process," Paul George said of his Philly co-star, who made his season debut Tuesday.

Embiid should be paired for the first time with nine-time All-Star Paul George, who missed the first five games with a bone bruise. Embiid, George and fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey were the 76ers’ version of a Big Three that was expected to make them one of the big favorites out of the Eastern Conference.