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Although Monday's 92-88 victory over Germany in the final exhibition game before the Olympics was maybe closer than expected for Team USA, there were some reasons for optimism moving forward.
Those reasons included an impressive showing from Joel Embiid.
"People who watch me know that every season know that it takes me a couple of games to get going and this is no different," Embiid said after the game, per ESPN's Brian Windhorst. "That's the reason we've got preseason games. I feel like myself and I'm going to keep going and I'm going to be playing at that MVP level I've played for the last five or six seasons.