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The Philadelphia 76ers are done for the 2019-20 season. Their awkward roster was not able to survive in the playoffs as they fell to the hands of the Boston Celtics in a Round 1 sweep.
Joel Embiid poured in another big game of 30 points and 10 rebounds in Game 4, but it was not enough to carry his team to even one win in this series and that hurt the big fella after the game. He had a lot of responsibility on his shoulders with the Sixers missing Ben Simmons, but he felt like he could have done more.
“It sucks. It’s hard to lose,” said Embiid. “This year I was finally healthy and we lose another starter. It just feels like we’re the Sixers, we always have some type of bad luck, but it happens. You just got to go out and do your best, do your job, help your teammates, and be a great guy.”
So now the question becomes, what now? Embiid was in the post for this entire series and it was not enough to get a win in this series. However, in today’s NBA, the prototypical big guy does not survive in this league. A big guy must do more than just be in the post all the time despite the plea of other NBA players for him to stop shooting.
“What I did in these playoffs obviously wasn’t enough,” Embiid explained. “I got to do better. We all got to do better. I’m always looking to improve everything as far as my game goes. A lot of people always want me to be a big man and be Shaq, but this league and this game is completely different. They call a bunch of offensive fouls all the time, you can’t elbow people, you can’t use your elbow, you can’t push people all over the place, you can’t post up as much anymore. You got to move the ball and all that stuff.”
The big fella has always received criticism for not staying in the post and always drifting out for jumpers. However, in this league and with the way the Sixers roster is constructed, he has to find a way to space the floor. Shooting is paramount in this league to succeed.
Embiid added:
I can be dominant down low, but then again to help the team, it’s not always about me, it’s about the team. With the roster we have. and if it is the same roster next year, I’ve got to be able to space the floor. I’ve got to be able to play outside because we got Ben who’s such a threat, especially when he’s got the ball in open court, you got to give him space. You got to space out for him and when the game slows down, you got to play through me on the block and sometimes I got to set screens, I got to give space to other guys and that’s when my guard skills come in handy. I got to work on everything from the post to ball handling to shooting the ball. I always say I want to be a complete basketball player.
Embiid does understand that he will receive more criticism due to the fact that he is so dominant in the post. He averaged 30 points in this series due to the fact that the Celtics had no answer for him and he marched to the free-throw line while also scoring at will against Daniel This and Enes Kanter. However, that was not enough scoring to get it done.
“I know people a lot of people are going to be mad ‘You need to post up’ and all that stuff, in the game nowadays you can’t do that,” the All-Star continued. “I played 40 minutes in this series. You can’t do that for 40 minutes the whole game. You can’t just go out and post up. You got to be able to do everything on the basketball court. That’s what I got to work on. It’s not about myself, it’s about the team so I got to help myself and I also got to help my teammates.”
Embiid has always been committed to Philadelphia. He wants to make it work in this city and bring them the championship that they so desire. This is another lesson for him to learn and another offseason for him to continue to work.
“I’m here in Philly. I always said that I want to end my career here,” he finished with. “If it happens, good. If it doesn’t happen, well we move on and all that stuff, but I’m here and I’m going to try my best to bring a championship back to Philly. We got a lot of great talent on the team. We got a bunch of good players. You just got to find a way to make it work. I think we can. I just got to go about it and do my job.”
Another offseason of changes could be coming in Philadelphia, but one thing will remain and that is Embiid. He still has a lot to work on, but he seems committed to making sure he does what he has to for the franchise. [lawrence-related id=37116,37117,37109]