The Sixers are doing just fine. I know this is a strange conclusion from the 111-99 loss to the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year. But these are the Sixers. Strange is the brand, dear. They’re 2-8, and they’re three games out of third place, and no one will remember October come The All-Star Break. Against the Knicks you saw the ingredients of a team that will have a real chance.

Forget the loss. Actually, the loss is what matters. In his first game of the season, Joel Embiid played as poorly as you will ever see him play. He was timid, hesitant and unsteady on his feet, a useful tool for Karl-Anthony Towns to diffuse the frustration of a decade. He shot 2-for-11 from the field, missed four of his five threes, grabbed three rebounds and committed three fouls while playing just over half the game.

» READ MORE: Paul George’s big scoring night and Sixers shooting woes highlight the Knicks loss

But if Embiid had played 34 minutes instead of 26, if he had stayed in the game instead of checking out for good with six minutes left, if he had played those minutes next to Tyrese Maxey and not Jeff Dowtin Jr. the Sixers might have won this game. If Embiid had played even at 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 sweat suit, and the Sixers suffered a 12-point loss in a game they trailed by two after one, four after two, and three after three. But they are already much closer to the promised team than the haters hoped was possible after such a discouraging month. It’s only a matter of time before they get there, assuming Embiid and Paul George stay healthy.

“If we’re all on the floor, we’ve got a pretty good chance of winning some games,” Embiid said.

I’m going to pause here for a moment 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 on a foundation of “if” and “just wait and see.” This is not an argument that they deserve the benefit of the doubt, or that you are foolish for refusing to grant it to them. They have left themselves little room for error by losing eight of their first ten games. Embiid has already used up a month of his annual budgeted 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 ramp-up period. He marches on.

And yet…

Health was always going to be the question mark with this team. It would blare just as loudly if the Sixers were in first place instead of last. The more relevant question is how good this team will be in how many games Embiid plays next to George, and how many of those games Maxey also plays next to them. The answer: quite good. In fact, they may be better than anyone ever dreamed.

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

The Sixers can afford nothing less than steady linear progression from Embiid as he works himself back into recognizable form after a delayed start to the season. But look, the Sixers are going to be exactly the team we thought they would be, no matter how long that team stays together.