This is the continuation of a new series by Sixers Wire to pass the time for everybody for the All-Star break. We’re going to take a look back at the 3 goals series from the offseason and see how each player has done in achieving those goals as well as give them a rating on how their season has gone. The rating will be based on a scale of 10 with 10 being how their season has gone based on the goals.
We are now down to the final player to review and that is superstar big man Joel Embiid. Despite what some are calling a down season, Embiid is still averaging 22.9 points and 11.9 rebounds with 3.2 assists and that is with sharing the court with basically another center in Al Horford and trying to be more “mature” and not trash talk as much. He just started in his third consecutive All-Star game and he is beginning to revert back to his jovial form. This is all good for Philadelphia.
We now review his season based on the 3 goals given to him in the summer:
Taking care of yourself
One can look at Embiid’s stats on the season and see that he has missed 16 games so far out of a possible 55, but nine of them were due to a freak accident where he dislocated his finger and two were due to an early-season suspension. That is already 11 games while the other five were basically little things like load management to make sure he is ready for the postseason.
Ultimately, none of this will matter until the playoffs. He needs to be 100% healthy heading into the postseason for Philadelphia to make the championship run that they envision. Embiid was hobbled going into their last two playoff runs and it did hinder his game just a bit. If the Sixers go into the playoffs with a healthy big man, then the sky’s the limit for them.
Limiting 3-point attempts
So far, Embiid is taking 3.9 attempts from deep on the season which is down from the 4.1 he attempted in 2018-19. However, the plan has taken a bit of a turn as the Sixers continue to try and make this thing work. They have needed Embiid to take some more perimeter shots at times to make the spacing work and allow Ben Simmons and Horford to operate and have success offensively as well. That is why in some instances one will see him operating from the perimeter in more of a pick-and-pop game rather than as a roller. That is the way this thing is going to work.
Adhering to load management plan
Embiid has averaged 30.5 minutes on the season which is down from 33.7 the year before. Combine that number with the 16 games he’s missed and he’s on track to be well-rested for when the playoffs roll around. He is doing a good job of being a good soldier in the regular season for the most part despite things not always going so smoothly. He has taken a solid approach to everything.
The Sixers have Horford and other big men to rely on to make sure he has enough rest for the future. Now, with the move of Horford to the bench, that allows coach Brett Brown to stagger minutes and allow Embiid to be able to rest and be ready to go for the playoffs which is, ultimately, what this is all about.
Rating: 8/10 [lawrence-related id=26040,26033,26025]