Joel: unchained.

[shlo]

Real stars elevate their game in the playoffs. Embiid is always less than when it matters most. Time to blow it up.

[rzzzzz]

Real stars elevate their game in the playoffs. Embiid is always less than when it matters most. Time to blow it up.

Miami would take him. Jimmy will stay in his face, and be THE GUY in the big moments.

[Hipster Doofus]

My sadistic side would be extremely curious to see how Jimmy Butler and Joel Embiid would play together in Miami.

A couple of championships wouldn't surprise me at all from that duo and that system they got down there with Spo as the coach.

Meanwhile, a generational talent who turns 30 next year wastes away in Phila with this ownership group and this (mis)management.

[TYO23]

He doesn’t have it in him to win. It was two possessions early in the game that showed you his mentality. He let Rob Williams out hustle him for a rebound and they ended up scoring on a Tatum fadeaway. Then another instance where he just fell asleep off ball defensively and almost gave up a layup. This is in a game 7 with legacy implications for him and he’s asleep. Great player and will make the HOF but we’re not winning with him as the guy.

[Mik317]

Miami also has a world class training staff so he'd be in tip top shape too.

[Bum Adebayo]

Miami also has a world class training staff so he'd be in tip top shape too.

He also has to cooperate though, diet is the most important think in terms of weight management, not exercise, and you cannot be 24/7 checking what he eats when he is in the Hotel, in his house, etc.

[Mik317]

Pretty sure Miami does exactly that

they fine people for being overweight

[Embiid P]

The one silver lining to all of this is that it's essentially novel territory for Joel in the sense that a majority of fans and media are rightfully ripping him for this series loss. Doc and Harden are also getting their fair share of blame, but it seems like Embiid is the number one target for everyone.

Three years ago, it was Horford and Brett Brown who were the primary targets. Two years ago, it was Simmons and Doc Rivers. Last year, it was Harden. This year, it's clearly Embiid.

Unlike Simmons who crawls into his shell over the slightest criticism, Joel at least has shown in the past that he can respond positively to criticism. Case in point, when Barkley and Shaq criticized him for not being aggressive enough and he came back and dominated the Celtics. How will he respond knowing that everyone under the sun is ripping him? Will it finally motivate him to take more accountability and change his game?

[Iverson Armband]

The one silver lining to all of this is that it's essentially novel territory for Joel in the sense that a majority of fans and media are rightfully ripping him for this series loss. Doc and Harden are also getting their fair share of blame, but it seems like Embiid is the number one target for everyone.

Three years ago, it was Horford and Brett Brown who were the primary targets. Two years ago, it was Simmons and Doc Rivers. Last year, it was Harden. This year, it's clearly Embiid.

Unlike Simmons who crawls into his shell over the slightest criticism, Joel at least has shown in the past that he can respond positively to criticism. Case in point, when Barkley and Shaq criticized him for not being aggressive enough and he came back and dominated the Celtics. How will he respond knowing that everyone under the sun is ripping him? Will it finally motivate him to take more accountability and change his game?

I actually think he might now since he won MVP. That’s clearly all he cared about this year. Still, if a fair deal is on the table you have to look in to moving him, he’s never going to be “the guy”.

[Mik317]

Biid has returned each season with an addition to his game. Ben regressed each year.

lets not get nuts here

[Embiid P]

Biid has returned each season with an addition to his game. Ben regressed each year.

lets not get nuts here

True. Really the only thing he needs to add offensively to his game is better on-court awareness when the double team is coming. Constantly dribbling into traffic is a recipe for a turnover and easy fast break on the other end. The main areas he needs to improve on are his rebounding and ability to defend stretch 5s both of which are more possible if he was willing to relinquish the offensive load.

[Mik317]

he needs to become a much better shooter specifically from deep or even the corners...it will give the ability to truly play off ball more. He's great from mid range but that takes a few rhythm dribbles and that can be timed by good defenders

Also needs to slim down especially if hes not going to use the size to his advantage.

But overall we simply need a new system in general. He's not an offense hub type IMO. Needs to become more of a finisher first and have all of the iso **** as a secondary (ideally last resort type beat IMO). It needs to be all catch and go or catch and shoot. No slowly pump faking or taking slow ass spins in the lane. Works sometimes but can't be your bread and butter. The PNR is neat and all too but again we never had a second plan when it was stopped because teams never had time to adjust. Bring back some DHO (key word is SOME) with Maxey and ideally a shooter guy we get in the offseason. Diversify your bonds yo.

These are all things we should exhaust before calling it quits IMO. Perhaps it still won't work out....and unless Harden **** him or his replacement is a better closer my guess is that it never will lol. But I think there are ways forward via a different POV and gamepan in general.

[Bum Adebayo]

I think it would just be better if he focused on becoming a better 3pt shooter, look at guys like Brook Lopez, Marc Gasol and how they changed their game thanks to that. His appeal as an offensive player increases exponentially if he does this, his fit becomes much better if he doesn't need the ball nowhere near as much and if he can provide good spacing.

[Arsenal]

Agree he needs to cut his usage down to 30% ala Anthony Davis, plus improve his 3PT shooting to create spacing when required. This means ~26 ppg instead of 33 ppg like this season. Saves a ton of energy to focus on the boards and defense, and allows the ball to move more on offense to get other guys into the flow.

[mjkvol]

The one silver lining to all of this is that it's essentially novel territory for Joel in the sense that a majority of fans and media are rightfully ripping him for this series loss. Doc and Harden are also getting their fair share of blame, but it seems like Embiid is the number one target for everyone.

Three years ago, it was Horford and Brett Brown who were the primary targets. Two years ago, it was Simmons and Doc Rivers. Last year, it was Harden. This year, it's clearly Embiid.

Unlike Simmons who crawls into his shell over the slightest criticism, Joel at least has shown in the past that he can respond positively to criticism. Case in point, when Barkley and Shaq criticized him for not being aggressive enough and he came back and dominated the Celtics. How will he respond knowing that everyone under the sun is ripping him? Will it finally motivate him to take more accountability and change his game?

I actually think he might now since he won MVP. That’s clearly all he cared about this year. Still, if a fair deal is on the table you have to look in to moving him, he’s never going to be “the guy”.

I'd love to bring in a coach who could sell him on the mentality necessary to win in the playoffs - be in the best shape of your life, sacrifice your scoring for defense and rebounding, improve footwork and passing, 30-32 minutes a game in the regular season, and win the Finals MVP, the real sign of a great player.

[ankle420breaker]

Impossible to overlook how Joel's softness continues to get exposed in playoff series. Painful to watch him joking around with Tatum after dropping a stinker like that in an elimination game.

It's almost as if Joel doesn't grasp that his repulsive performance murdered our collective faith in him as a fanbase. That was the biggest game of his career and he didn't have the toughness or fortitude to even compete.

Great regular season player, but totally lacking that killer instinct mentality needed to advance. 2nd round will remain Joel's high water mark and he genuinely doesn't seem too bothered by it. It's time to turn the page and blow this thing up.

Sent from my SM-S901U using RealGM mobile app

[Ferry Avenue]

Impossible to overlook how Joel's softness continues to get exposed in playoff series. Painful to watch him joking around with Tatum after dropping a stinker like that in an elimination game.

It's almost as if Joel doesn't grasp that his repulsive performance murdered our collective faith in him as a fanbase. That was the biggest game of his career and he didn't have the toughness or fortitude to even compete.

Great regular season player, but totally lacking that killer instinct mentality needed to advance. 2nd round will remain Joel's high water mark and he genuinely doesn't seem too bothered by it. It's time to turn the page and blow this thing up.

Sent from my SM-S901U using RealGM mobile app

No doubt about it.

[Ferry Avenue]

The one silver lining to all of this is that it's essentially novel territory for Joel in the sense that a majority of fans and media are rightfully ripping him for this series loss. Doc and Harden are also getting their fair share of blame, but it seems like Embiid is the number one target for everyone.

Three years ago, it was Horford and Brett Brown who were the primary targets. Two years ago, it was Simmons and Doc Rivers. Last year, it was Harden. This year, it's clearly Embiid.

Unlike Simmons who crawls into his shell over the slightest criticism, Joel at least has shown in the past that he can respond positively to criticism. Case in point, when Barkley and Shaq criticized him for not being aggressive enough and he came back and dominated the Celtics. How will he respond knowing that everyone under the sun is ripping him? Will it finally motivate him to take more accountability and change his game?

I actually think he might now since he won MVP. That’s clearly all he cared about this year. Still, if a fair deal is on the table you have to look in to moving him, he’s never going to be “the guy”.

I'd love to bring in a coach who could sell him on the mentality necessary to win in the playoffs - be in the best shape of your life, sacrifice your scoring for defense and rebounding, improve footwork and passing, 30-32 minutes a game in the regular season, and win the Finals MVP, the real sign of a great player.

If he needs to be sold on that by somebody, he'll never get there. He ought to be selling his coach on that.

[Ferry Avenue]

I think it would just be better if he focused on becoming a better 3pt shooter, look at guys like Brook Lopez, Marc Gasol and how they changed their game thanks to that. His appeal as an offensive player increases exponentially if he does this, his fit becomes much better if he doesn't need the ball nowhere near as much and if he can provide good spacing.

That works only if it's a complement to a great penetration scorer a la Lopez is to Giannis. The Sixers don't have that player.

[mjkvol]

I actually think he might now since he won MVP. That’s clearly all he cared about this year. Still, if a fair deal is on the table you have to look in to moving him, he’s never going to be “the guy”.

I'd love to bring in a coach who could sell him on the mentality necessary to win in the playoffs - be in the best shape of your life, sacrifice your scoring for defense and rebounding, improve footwork and passing, 30-32 minutes a game in the regular season, and win the Finals MVP, the real sign of a great player.

If he needs to be sold on that by somebody, he'll never get there. He ought to be selling his coach on that.

There are numerous examples of players who until their 30's and beyond never matured into winning players, and a lot has to do with culture and coaching, both of which have been toxic here all of Embiid's career.

Not everyone is born a "dog" like Butler, and the option here is to rebuild or try everything possible to unlock that in Embiid if it can be done.

Maybe it can't, and maybe he'll be coddled here and retire a former MVP HOFer who never wins anything. I'd rather see if it can be done rather than enter the lottery wilderness for the foreseeable future.