Joel Embiid, as has become a standard for him, started off the 2023-24 season with a rough showing as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Philadelphia 76ers by a score of 118-117.

Embiid got better as the game went along but that just amounted to going from really bad to decent at times. The Sixers superstar made some awful decisions with his passes, leading to seven turnovers. He tallied 24 points, seven boards and six assists on 9-21 shooting and shot a woeful 3-8 from the charity stripe.

Defensively, Embiid protected his basket well. With him in the game, the Bucks shot poorly at the rim thanks to his long arms contesting shots. But his rocky performance on offense bogged the Sixers down even though he and Tyrese Maxey came alive late in the game. Sadly for Philly, the damage from Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo was too much to overcome.

After the game, Embiid said that there are some growing pains to be felt as he and the team learn the ways of new head coach Nick Nurse, according to Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire.

“I thought tonight, I was a little bit passive, but then again, it’s a new offense,” Joel Embiid said, via Sixers Wire. “We’re all trying to learn. Just trying to make the right plays, the right reads, we just gotta work on the spacing, but it was a good start.”

Nick Nurse didn’t dismiss the idea of Embiid being a little more rusty due to his absences in the preseason. But the Sixers coach was a bit more kinder in his assessment of Embiid's game.

“A little bit, but I thought he looked pretty good,” Nurse said, via Sixers Wire. “I know he had a stretch there we had a couple—I thought he had three or four really good looks there in a stretch that he didn’t hit, but I thought he looked pretty good out there.”

As the Sixers head into their next game against the Toronto Raptors, Embiid will look to continue his familiarity with Nurse's system.