The Sixers are closer to the team that was promised than the haters hoped was possible after a dispiriting month. It’s only a matter of time before they get there, assuming the stars stay healthy.

It took an extra three weeks, but Joel Embiid's regular season finally is underway. The superstar center made his season debut Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center against the New York Knicks after sitting out the first nine games to manage his left knee injury and then a three-game suspension for shoving a reporter.

"He is the piece. He is The Process," Paul George said of his Philly co-star, who made his season debut Tuesday.