Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid is one of the elite players in the NBA as he can score in a variety of ways and he makes a huge impact on the defensive end as well. However, there are times he is neutralized with a double team as he can struggle to pass out of them at times.
In the post, the big fella is unstoppable. He scores 1.12 points per possession when he touches it in post-up situations per NBA Stats. That’s a number that is easily the best in the league and he can only be neutralized by waves of defenders.
In order to prepare for the playoffs in this NBA restart, coach Brett Brown is trying to prepare Embiid for those inevitable double teams.
“I believe he’s going to be double-teamed more than he isn’t,” Brown explained. “It’s not always him catching the ball and then on the flight of the pass here comes the person, low man, top of the nail, whatever. It’s a cat and mouse game. Let’s come on the first dribble, let’s come on the second dribble. You can book it. He spins baseline, the whole gyms coming. I don’t care who we’re playing.”
Obviously, Embiid has not been at his best in the playoffs in the past. His numbers can drop and that is due to the fact that he has waves of defenders sent at him. In this training camp 2.0, Brown’s entire focus is on getting him ready for those moments.
“For this camp, damn near every time he catches it, we’re coming,” Brown added. “It could be the high man, it could be baseline, it could be let’s play some cat and mouse to keep him off balance, but in that environment, he has passed the heck out of it. He really has done a real good job of passing out of it. I think that we’re moving toward the reads that are coming.”
As Embiid continues to grow as a player, he is understanding that patience has to come with all of this. When the Sixers get into the playoffs in Orlando, a lot of their success will hinge on his work on the offensive end.
“If teams are going to double me on every single possession when I’m on the court, I should not just stick to catching it at a post,” Embiid added. “There’s so many ways to get me involved in the offense. We’re getting me used to it because it’s going to happen in the playoffs on every single possession so I got to be ready. I feel like I’ve improved. It’s all about patience.”
Another big part of Embiid’s game is his ability to get to the foul line. He averaged 10.1 free throws a game in 2018-19, but that number has dropped to 8.7 this season. That number is something that Brown would like to get back into double digits in this restart.
“I do think if you were to hang on to some specific goals, I want him shooting 10 free throws minimum a game,” Brown finished with. “I see Joel’s evolution to having the regular season stats mirror the playoffs equaling those types of things.”
Embiid’s aggression has always come into question. A lot of people come at the big fella a lot about his uneven effort on the floor, but that’s also going to be addressed in this resumption.
[protected-iframe id=”553562be3e48c7e0008844c7e60747d3-146352668-86424022″ info=”https://app.playpickup.com/widgets/props/39″ style=”width: 22rem; height: 575px; border: 0″]
“Free throws have been a bit down this year, but when you look at last year or the past two years, I’ve got there about 10 times a game,” the big man added. “That’s really my game to be physical and either score or get fouled. A lot of people might say ‘Oh he’s always looking for fouls’ but that’s just the way it is. I’m a pretty good free-throw shooter and I’ll take that any day.
It’s just about me being aggressive through double teams. If there’s double teams or not, just be aggressive. That’s always been an emphasis when it came to my game. I tend to just keep on going.”
He will get his first taste at competitive basketball again on Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies in a scrimmage game. [lawrence-related id=35287,35278,35238]