On Thursday evening, Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers picked up their third straight win with a 114-99 victory over the Toronto Raptors. The game marked the first contest of the season that the Sixers have played since trading away disgruntled point guard James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers, and Embiid did not seem to miss a beat in the star's absence (although it should be noted that Harden hadn't played a game this season for the Sixers anyway).

In the game against Toronto, Embiid scored 28 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, dished out seven assists, and knocked down 12 of his 13 free throw attempts, leading the team in all of those categories.

Joel Embiid has never had his ability to stuff the stat sheet doubted. Now playing without James Harden, it figures that those stats, which were enough to win him the NBA MVP award in 2022-23, will only go up from here, although the emergence of guard Tyrese Maxey as seemingly a legitimate number two option might take away some of Embiid's scoring opportunities.

The Sixers are currently looking for ways to reach the level of the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference hierarchy following offseason acquisitions made by both of those teams. In the return for Harden from the Clippers, the Sixers received some nice role players to bolster their bench, but not likely anyone that will help elevate them to true championship contender status.

Still, with Joel Embiid playing at this level, the Sixers should be able to compile a lot of regular season wins, if nothing else.