Reasons to believe in the Sixers, even if Joel Embiid struggles in his debut against the Knicks

The Sixers will be fine. I know that's a strange takeaway from the 99-111 loss to the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year. But these are the Sixers. Strange is the brand, baby. They're 2-8, three games out of third place, and no one will remember October by the All-Star Break. Against the Knicks you saw the makings of a team that will have a real chance.

Forget the loss. In fact, it's about loss. In his first game of the season, Joel Embiid played worse than ever. He was shy, hesitant and unsteady on his feet, a handy foil for Karl-Anthony Towns to exorcise a decade's worth of frustration. He shot 2 of 11 from the field, missed four of his five three-pointers, grabbed three rebounds and committed three fouls while playing barely more than half the game.

” READ MORE: Paul George's great scoring night and the Sixers' shooting problems highlight the loss to the Knicks

But if Embiid had played 34 minutes instead of 26, if he had stayed in the game for the decisive period instead of being eliminated for good with six minutes left, if he had played those minutes alongside Tyrese Maxey and not alongside Jeff Dowtin Jr , the Sixers might have won this game. If Embiid had played even 75% of his usual level, the Sixers almost certainly would have won. Instead, Embiid was closer to 50%, Maxey was on the sideline in a tracksuit and the Sixers suffered a 12-point loss in a game in which they trailed by two after one, four after two and three after three. But they're already much closer to the promised team than the haters thought possible after such a discouraging month. It's only a matter of time before they get there, assuming Embiid and Paul George stay healthy.

“Once we're all on the field, we'll have a pretty good chance to win some games,” Embiid said.

I pause here to remind you that I am nothing more than a humble messenger. I completely understand if you would rather not participate in hypotheticals. The Sixers have spent the last decade building a kingdom based on ifs and waits. This is not an argument that they deserve the benefit of the doubt or that you are stupid for refusing to give them that benefit. They left themselves little room for error as they lost eight of their first ten games. Embiid has already used up a month of his scheduled annual absence. If they had started 2-8 last season instead of 8-2, they would have had to win two play-in games instead of one before losing to the Celtics instead of the Knicks. Father Time has no start-up time. He marches on.

And yet…

Health was always the question mark with this team. It would roar just as loudly if the Sixers were in first place rather than last. The bigger question is how good this team will be, no matter how many games Embiid plays alongside George and how many of those games Maxey plays alongside them as well. The answer: pretty good. In fact, they might be better than anyone has ever dreamed.

A few key takeaways from Tuesday's loss to the Knicks:

The Sixers can afford nothing less than steady linear development from Embiid, who returns to recognizable form after a late start to the season. But look, the Sixers will be exactly the team we envisioned, no matter how long this team has been together.