Joel Embiid has made his season debut and is ready to give the lowly 76ers a needed lift

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Joel Embiid has made his season debut and is ready to give the lowly 76ers a needed lift

2024-11-13 08:59 Last Updated At：09:00

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid returned to a rousing ovation from 76ers fans in his first game of the season, a start marred by injuries and suspension to the All-Star center that kept Philadelphia anchored at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Embiid wasted no time giving the Sixers a tantalizing glimpse against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night of what could be — a dish to fellow oft-injured All Star Paul George for a layup to open the game.

“He's looked good,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said of Embiid before the game. “He's done a lot of work to get ready here. He looks pretty good. You've got to go out there and do it live.”

Embiid, wearing a brace on his surgically repaired left knee, pointed skyward as he hit the court for pregame warmups and looked in shape and ready to roll for his debut.

He had already stuck around for extra work after shootaround. The 7-footer was in no rush to finish his drills.

Embiid shot free throws, worked on his post game and made soft jumpers during a Tuesday morning workout in preparation of his season debut and his first game playing with George, who joined the Sixers over the summer on a four-year, $212 million contract.

Without Embiid, the Sixers entered 2-7.

“It's the right step in the right direction we're trying to get to,” Sixers forward Caleb Martin said. “Obviously, excited to have someone like him back to our team.”

Embiid, George and fellow All-Star Tyrese Maxey, out with a right hamstring injury, were the 76ers' version of a Big Three that was expected to make them one of the big favorites out of the East.

The trio instead has yet to play a game together.

“We've had our struggles without them,” Nurse said. “It's important for us to get into some phase of figuring out what we look like with those guys all here and how that moves the other pieces around. What guys can get on the floor with who. try to start building some chemistry."

The 76ers are coming off an overtime win over Charlotte but face an uphill climb into playoff contention.

There have been 20 teams in NBA history to make the playoffs after starting 1-6 or 0-7, though it’s been extremely rare in recent years. In the last 27 years, only three teams -- the 2003-04 Miami Heat (0-7), the 2004-05 Chicago Bulls (0-7) and the 2021-22 New Orleans Pelicans (1-6) had such a start and went on to make the playoffs.

Embiid's return can only force the push toward a winning record.

A seven-time All-Star, Embiid returns from what the team called left knee management and the end of a three-game suspension for shoving a member of the media.

By his own admission, Embiid says he won’t play back-to-back games this season, meaning he’ll sit out Wednesday against Cleveland. The next set of back-to-backs are Dec. 3 at Charlotte and a Dec. 4 home game against Orlando.

Play him at home in front of fans who paid exorbitant ticket prices this season to watch Andre Drummond at center, right?

No so fast.

Much like Tuesday's game against the Knicks, the Hornets game was designated as part of the NBA Cup round-robin schedule.

The 76ers have been open since the preseason on how they intended to use Embiid this season — manage his minutes and games played to the point where they can safely navigate him to the postseason healthy for the first time in his career.

Nurse, the sports science departments and the front office face a thorny situation on deciding when Embiid will suit up this season. Plus, with Embiid, there's no guarantee he simply won't get injured again, a blow that would send the franchise closer to the draft lottery than chasing its first NBA championship since 1983.

Any potential setbacks with Embiid are worries for another day.

On Tuesday, Embiid banners decorated the Wells Fargo Center concourse and his teammates — and fans — were excited to have him play for the first time since he helped the U.S. win a gold medal in the Paris Olympics.

“You've got to expect there to be hiccups and kinks and stuff like that,” Martin said. “Understand that's what comes with putting a new team together and bringing pieces back. Just expect the unexpected.”

Hey, it's the 76ers' way.

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Prayers and tears mark 20 years since the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed some 230,000 people

2024-12-26 17:53 Last Updated At：18:00

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — People gathered in prayer and visited mass graves in Indonesia’s Aceh province on Thursday to mark 20 years since the massive Indian Ocean tsunami hit the region in one of modern history’s worst natural disasters.

Many wept as they placed flowers at a mass grave in Ulee Lheue village, where more than 14,000 unidentified tsunami victims are buried. It is one of several mass graves in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia’s northernmost province, which was one of the areas worst hit by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake and the massive tsunami it triggered.

“We miss them and we still don’t know where they are. All we know is that every year we visit the mass grave in Ulee Lhue and Siron,” said Muhamad Amirudin, who lost two of his children 20 years ago and has never found their bodies.

"This life is only temporary, so we do our best to be useful to others,” Amirudin, visiting the grave with his wife, said.

The powerful earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Dec. 26, 2004, triggered a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people across a dozen countries, reaching as far as East Africa. Some 1.7 million people were displaced, mostly in the four worst-affected countries: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

More than 170,000 people died in Indonesia alone.

Even though 20 years have passed, survivors in Indonesia are still grieving the loved ones they lost to the giant wave that flattened buildings all the way to the provincial capital of Banda Aceh.

Hundreds of people gathered to pray at the Baiturrahman Mosque in downtown Banda Aceh. Sirens sounded across the city for three minutes to mark the time of the earthquake.

Infrastructure in Aceh has been rebuilt and is now more resilient than before the tsunami struck. Early warning systems have been installed in coastal areas to alert residents of incoming tsunamis, providing crucial time to seek safety.

The rebuilding efforts were made possible by the support of international donors and organizations, which contributed significant funds to help the region recover. Schools, hospitals, and essential infrastructure destroyed by the disaster have been reconstructed.

In Thailand, people gathered at a memorial ceremony in Ban Nam Khem, a small fishing village in Phang Nga province that bore the brunt of the devastating wave in the country.

The tsunami claimed the lives of over 8,000 people in Thailand, including many who remain missing, leaving a deep scar in the nation’s history. Nearly 400 bodies remain unclaimed.

Mourners shed tears and comforted each other as they laid flowers at the village’s tsunami memorial. Around 300 people joined a modest ceremony with Muslim, Christian and Buddhist prayers.

Urai Sirisuk said she avoids the seaside memorial park the rest of the year because the loss of her 4-year-old daughter still cuts deep every time she's reminded of it.

“I have this feeling that the sea has taken my child. I’m very angry with it. I can’t even put my foot in the water,” she said.

But, she said, “I still hear her voice in my ears, that she’s calling for me. I can’t abandon her. So I have to be here, for my child.”

In India, hundreds gathered at Marina beach in the southern city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu state. They poured milk into the sea to propitiate gods and offered flowers and prayers for the dead as drums beat in the background.

According to official data, 10,749 people were killed in India, including nearly 7,000 people in Tamil Nadu alone.

“It has been 20 years since the tsunami,” said 69-year-old Sadayammal, who uses one name. “We are here to pay respects to the people who lost their lives.”

In Sri Lanka, survivors and relatives of tsunami victims gathered at the coastal village of Pereliya and laid flowers at a memorial that commemorates nearly 2,000 passengers who died when their train, the Queen of the Sea, was hit by the wave. Only a few dozen people are believed to have survived.

Anura Ranjith joined the mourners to pay respects to his younger sister, Anula Ranjani, and her 9-year-old daughter who were passengers on the train. Ranjith never heard from them after that day.

“I looked for them everywhere for years and still, no information about them. Their loss is a great sorrow and pain for me. I am still grieving,” he said.

Overall, more than 35,000 people died in Sri Lanka in the tsunami. People across the country observed two minutes of silence on Thursday in memory of those who lost their lives.

Tarigan reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Associated Press journalists Tian Macleod Ji in Phang Nga, Thailand, Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok, Aijaz Hussain in New Delhi, Bharatha Mallawarachi in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Eranga Jayawardena in Pereliya, Sri Lanka, contributed to this report.