Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor to join forces vs. Kings
The 76ers gave us a sneak peek of their version of the Twin Towers featuring Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid on Oct. 29. They expect to unveil it again Wednesday in the matchup against the Sacramento Kings at the Wells Fargo Center.
The 76ers gave us a sneak peek of their version of the Twin Towers featuring Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid on Oct. 29. They expect to unveil it again Wednesday in the matchup against the Sacramento Kings at the Wells Fargo Center.
"It's my expectation that we will play those two together," coach Brett Brown said Monday. "At what point? I have not thought that through yet."
The Sixers (4-14) have not paired the 7-foot-2 Embiid with the 6-11 Okafor in the last 16 games because of unfavorable matchups against mobile and/or undersized power forwards. But the Kings (7-11) start two-time all-star center/power forward DeMarcus Cousins alongside center Kosta Koufos.
The 6-11, 270-pound Cousins and the 7-0, 265-pound Koufos make up one of the league's biggest front-line tandems. They're a good test to see if the Okafor-Embiid tandem will work.
"I've said time and time again that me and Joe are eager to play together," Okafor said. "We want to play together. We hope the opportunity presents itself."
Their brief pairing was uneventful in a 104-72 loss to Atlanta in the second game of the season. They were on the floor together during a 2-minute, 16-second stretch of the second quarter.
Embiid played in the high post while Okafor was on the block. There wasn't a lot of activity with the two centers on the floor together. The Sixers had three turnovers during that stretch. Their only points came on a pair of foul shots by Embiid. Luckily for them, the Hawks were equally bad during that stretch, scoring two points.
The Sixers would be wise to have Embiid guard Cousins in a Twin Towers scenario. He's a much more established offensive player than Koufos. Embiid, meanwhile, is a superior defender to Okafor.
Cousins is averaging a career-best 28.7 points to go with 10.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks. He's also shooting a career-best 39 percent on three-pointers. Koufos averages just 5.6 and 5.9 rebounds as a role player averaging 20.2 minutes.
Back to D-League
The Sixers sent rookie Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot back down to the Delaware 87ers, their NBA Development League team.
The swingman was available to play in Tuesday night's game against the Grand Rapids Drive at the Bob Carpenter Center. This marks his third stint with the D-League team.
Playing with the Sevens gives Luwawu-Cabarrot playing time he is not receiving with the Sixers. In 11 appearances, he has averaged 1.9 points and 5.9 minutes.
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