NBA: Breaking Down Every Eastern Conference Rookie, Team-By-Team

Jan 27, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) reacts to his three pointer with guard Nik Stauskas (11) during the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets at Wells Fargo Center. The Houston Rockets won123-118. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 27, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) reacts to his three pointer with guard Nik Stauskas (11) during the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets at Wells Fargo Center. The Houston Rockets won123-118. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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Feb 15, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Dario Saric (9) shoots a layup against the Boston Celtics in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 15, 2017; Boston, MA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers forward Dario Saric (9) shoots a layup against the Boston Celtics in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia 76ers

Dario Saric, Joel Embiid, Shawn Long, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Ben Simmons, Alex Poythress

Dario Saric recently won the NBA Rookie of the Month award for March. He put up some big numbers and only scored in the single-digits two times during the month. There’s no doubt that the 76ers have a good player on their hands with him. He’s a guy who can fill the stat sheet and is just fun to watch, even if the team isn’t great. There’s definitely a ton of potential for him to be a future all star.

Joel Embiid has been inactive since January, but he’s been quite active on Twitter. It really is a shame that he’s been out because he’s another rookie who was showing a ton of potential and could easily be a future all star, too. In his 31 games, he was averaging over 20 points per game and raked in a 24 PER. For perspective, the average PER is usually around 15. Embiid is extremely effective when he plays and hopefully he can continue that when he comes back.

Shawn Long was more recently acquired by the team and he’s played in 15 games. However, in his limited run of games, his PER is 26.8. Due to the smaller sample size, I wouldn’t get too excited about this. And like I said, the 76ers have a lot of centers, four to be exact. The remainder of the season will probably determine if the 76ers show interest in Long, or if they plan to move him.

Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot participated in 68 games so far this season. He’s a small forward who looks to be improving the more he plays. The beginning of the season was a rocky start for him, but with more playing time, his numbers have started to improve. I wouldn’t consider him starting material, but with some more work, he can be a decent player coming off the bench.

Ben Simmons was all the rage during last year’s NBA Draft. Unfortunately, he hasn’t played in a single game for the 76ers due to injury. While he is a rookie this year, it looks like his real rookie season will be on hold until next year. Hopefully he’ll live up to the expectations that have already been place on him.

Alex Poythress was recently acquired by the team and has played in two games in April so far. He’s averaging 10.5 points and playing over 20 minutes per game. It’s a start, but we’ll have to see more from him before coming to any conclusions.