Friday NBA Roundup: Are Lakers or Sixers Better off in Rebuilding Process?

The last time D’Angelo Russell and Joel Embiid were spotted on the same court, they were buried on the depth chart together at Montverde Academy in Florida.

“Our coach had guys in front of us,” Russell told CSNPhilly.com’s Jessica Camerato. “After the practices or games, we were always in the gym together. We spent a lot of time [there], if it was getting work or just messing around shooting crazy shots.”

Playing time is no longer hard to come by for Russell and Embiid, though they’ve been butting up against minutes restrictions. Both young stars have found wins at the NBA level much tougher to find, though Russell’s Los Angeles Lakers are already well ahead of Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers in that regard.

L.A. made that crystal clear from the get-go during a 100-89 win in Philly on Friday that snapped an eight-game skid.

Russell fueled the Lakers early. Within the first two minutes, the No. 2 pick in 2015 opened the scoring with a pair of free throws earned on a post-up, found Julius Randle on the break, picked off a pass from Sergio Rodriguez and took it in for a layup, and pulled up for a three-pointer to jump-start a 15-point, seven-rebound, two-assist effort.

Sprinkle in a pair of mid-range jumpers from Randle, and the Purple and Gold—sporting their black “Hollywood Nights” uniforms on the road—found themselves with a 13-0 cushion that would never shrink to fewer than five points and would extend as far as 22.

Embiid didn’t wait long to try to steal back the spotlight from his high school teammate. The No. 3 pick in 2014 hit from inside and outside the arc, showed off a nifty Eurostep and dished to Robert Covington for an easy finish. 

But by and large, Embiid, like the rest of the Sixers, struggled to find the range on their home floor. He wound up with 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting (3-of-8 from the free-throw line) while starting next to Jahlil Okafor (14 points, eight rebounds) for the second time this season. For the first time ever, those two were active in the same game with Nerlens Noel, who notched two points and five rebounds in eight minutes off the bench.

All told, Philly shot 36.4 percent from the field and 19.4 percent (6-of-31) from three, despite putting five players in double figures.

Randle, who went four picks after Embiid in 2014, was the biggest star at the Wells Fargo Center. On the stat sheet, he shot 10-of-13 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line en route to a season-high 25 points along with nine rebounds, four assists and and three steals. On the hardwood, he was once again a one-man wrecking crew, bullying his way to fast-break buckets and throwing down a spectacular spinning slam.

“I told him he turned into Hulk Smash the whole night and he just went to work,” Nick Young said after his 15-point night, per Laker Nation’s Serena Winters.

Randle has been one of the main engines driving L.A.’s still-surprising 11-18 start. So, too, has the Lakers’ second unit, which came up big in the City of Brotherly Love.

Jordan Clarkson shook off a cold start (1-of-5 from the field) to finish with 10 points. Lou Williams, the league’s leading bench scorer, dropped another 18 points with seven made free throws, three assists and four steals. Larry Nance Jr. didn’t put anyone on a poster this time, but he grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked two shots nonetheless.

Chances are, this matchup between two teams that have dwelled at the bottom of the NBA’s barrel in recent seasons made the national broadcast because of Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram, the top two picks in 2016.

But Ingram, the No. 2 selection, struggled once again to produce off the Lakers bench. He looked as confident and comfortable as ever with the ball in his hands, but he had trouble finding the range (1-of-8 from the field) and ended up with more turnovers (two) than assists (one).

That still bested what the Sixers got from Simmons. Then again, anything on Ingram’s part would’ve done the job, given the Australian sensation’s ongoing recovery from foot surgery.

With Ingram, Russell, Randle, Nance and Clarkson, the Lakers have the makings of a talented and intriguing long-term core. The contributions of veterans like Young, Williams and Luol Deng (seven points, six rebounds and three assists) have helped to accelerate the team’s rebuild this season. Another seven victories would put L.A. ahead of its 2015-16 total: a franchise-low 17.

The 76ers, meanwhile, are still wandering in the wilderness. Three-and-a-half years after beginning the teardown with a draft-day trade for Noel, Philly has yet to find a role that suits the Kentucky product’s peculiar talents.

Finding a proper landing place might not be any easier for the Sixers. According to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, potential trade partners don’t like what they’ve seen and heard from Noel, diminishing the former No. 6 pick’s value on the …

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