If you watched the hit HBO series Westworld (you should, it’s dope), you probably remember what Anthony Hopkins’ character, Robert Ford, said about evolution. Mistakes, he argued, are the single most powerful tool of evolution, with an infinite number of them defining the world around us and the future of everything that will ever be. Hopefully, when the Sixers have completed their metamorphoses we will all look back upon the Joel Embiid-Jahlil Okafor frontcourt as a wholly benign but largely ineffective experiment.
About two hours before tipoff, head coach Brett Brown announced that the two centers would start alongside one another, with Embiid playing more of a traditional power forward role and Okafor defending the center position and posting up around the basket on the offensive end.