Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid has certainly had an up-and-down 2019-20 season. The All-Star center has had to adjust having a traditional big man in Al Horford next to him and that has caused him to struggle at certain points.
However, Embiid is still one of the better defensive players in the league regardless of position. The Sixers benefit tremendously with him on the floor as opponents struggled at the rim whenever he was on the floor.
However, ESPN’s Zach Lowe was joined by Kevin Arvonitz on The Lowe Pos Podcast to discuss whether Embiid really deserved to be on an All-Defensive Team for the season. They believe Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis should be on the First Team which then leaves Embiid and Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert vying for the one final spot on the Second Team.
Let’s start with the obvious one and that’s Embiid who missed 20 something games, and for 15 to 20 of the games he did play looked like the spirit had kind of left him a little bit like he was kind of sagging he wasn’t the same emphatic, fast, everywhere presence, all the time he could summon it you know you could tell when he wanted to summon it whether it was someone he wanted to embarrass or a big moment in the game, it was there.
On the flip side, they acknowledge how great Embiid has been on that end of the floor.
Maybe it doesn’t even matter how hard Embiid tries, or what kind of shape he’s in because every statistic, almost every statistical indicator, again you can find you can find your VORPs or not so friendly to do Joel Embiid this year, but most statistical indicators scream, just this dude’s presence on the court is the most important thing on defense in the entire basketball world just his presence. Every Sixer is way better on defense when Joel Embiid on the floor, the opponent’s shot selection with Joel Embiid on the floor is completely warped, no one even tries to go to the rim against Philly when Joel is on the floor.
Embiid may not be this dominant shot-blocker as a guy who would put up gaudy stat lines or anything, but the fact that he makes a huge difference for Philadelphia defensively is the big asset he has going for him. There really should be no question whether or not he at least makes an All-Defensive Team. [lawrence-related id=33267,33261,33254]