Joel Embiid - The Prophecy is Realized

[PennSports]

Joel can't win with these guys. He has to carry harder more now than ever, what an awful offseason.

Great job getting rid of his two best fits in Butler and JJ and paying Horford 100 million to be an insurance policy. THERE IS NO INSURANCE FOR EMBIID good job spending the budget Elton. It can be argued he has hurt this teams prospects more than Colangelo lol

I don’t think it’s all Elton, it’s the whole collaborative team including Brett making the decisions. Elton just holds the title to be the fall guy.

They need to clean house of everyone making personnel decisions.

they needed to clean house a long time ago. They had the perfect opportunity to with Burner-gate but they were closer to keeping Colangelo than getting a real GM to replace the 12 man brain trust. So frustrating that the process has led to this team that in all likely hood is not gonna be close to getting it done

[phillynative]

Joel has to do a better job of securing the ball. He is a walking turnover. Players eyes light up everytime he gets the ball on the move and putting the ball down low near the guards reach. He has to be aware now that he is going to get blitzed everytime he has the ball. Those turnovers in miami were inexcusable.

He should be working on it with his trainer because its an obvious weakness in his game.

[kuclas]

Joel has to do a better job of securing the ball. He is a walking turnover. Players eyes light up everytime he gets the ball on the move and putting the ball down low near the guards reach. He has to be aware now that he is going to get blitzed everytime he has the ball. Those turnovers in miami were inexcusable.

He should be working on it with his trainer because its an obvious weakness in his game.

Embiid has gotten better the month of December. He was out of sorts after the KAT incident. Honestly. He has very few weakness in his game (for elite nba modern nba center). Shoots 80% plus free throws, 3 point shooting percentage up, defense is still very elite even if he doesn’t have the same foot speed. He’s scoring is way up since the 0 point Toronto game. He’s up to 24 points on good efficiency.

But the ability to handle double teams and turnovers in the crucial moment is his Achilles heel at this point. He hasn’t shown the ability to improve the past 3 years. I watch the highlight. Ben and Burke AND josh were WIDE open. Seriously. Triple team. Means someone is open. 3 guys were wide open

[Kobblehead]

I will continue to contest that the turnover stuff and ability to handle double teams is just a nature of his size and position and not a weakness that is unique to him as a player. Every big is a turnover machine when blitzed with pressure. Even highly intelligent and skilled passers like Jokic.

[kuclas]

I will continue to contest that the turnover stuff and ability to handle double teams is just a nature of his size and position and not a weakness that is unique to him as a player. Every big is a turnover machine when blitzed with pressure. Even highly intelligent and skilled passers like Jokic.

It’s a combination of failing to combat the double team. Embiid doesn’t make quick decisions. He tries to be methodical which is fine. But it’s the clumsy way he goes about it. Than he’s loose with the ball and guys can strip the ball away. I mean. Come on. The worst than could happen with 15-17 seconds left is Miami get a jump ball with embiid and he’s the tallest guy in the jump ball if he held the ball with two hands in a triple team. Or most likely he gets foul. But he’s expecting a quick whistle and trip to the free throw line.

I’d take my chances against any jump ball situation with embiid. It’s better than getting stripped and transition baskets at the other end.

[Kobblehead]

I think Embiid was expecting two things on that play.

1. Miami to foul him and send him to the free throw line.
2. A timeout from the bench area.

The moment Brett realized Miami wasn't going to foul, he should have called a timeout.

[VDT]

I think handling double teams is more of a geometry issue and of a more structured offense. You dont expect your big to dribble his way out of the double team or split the double team, nor you should expect him to make a difficult pass out of the double team. Instead the spot he catches the ball and his teammates positioning should give him an open pass to someone if he gets double teamed. Which is why deeper catches are important, they force the double team to commit and makes it easier to find the open man.

[phillynative]

I think Embiid was expecting two things on that play.

1. Miami to foul him and send him to the free throw line.
2. A timeout from the bench area.

The moment Brett realized Miami wasn't going to foul, he should have called a timeout.

Brett said he thought Embiid was gonna pass it because of the open guys around him.

If your Embiid
Either hold the ball up high securely or pass it to a open teammate. If you rewatch that play both jrich and tobias had there arms outstretched . Idk maybe a slight miscommunication there as well.

[Kobblehead]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28419048/sixers-joel-embiid-admits-losing-streak-taking-toll-me

He's been visibly unhappy on the court all year. He's also been confirmed as being unhappy with the play and fit of certain teammates.

Joel has definitely stepped onto the path of demanding a trade. I don't know how far down that path he walks. And it probably won't culminate until another early playoff exit. But the trade request is looming. We better fix this through conversation and action.

[XDevilBoiX]

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28419048/sixers-joel-embiid-admits-losing-streak-taking-toll-me

He's been visibly unhappy on the court all year. He's also been confirmed as being unhappy with the play and fit of certain teammates.

Joel has definitely stepped onto the path of demanding a trade. I don't know how far down that path he walks. And it probably won't culminate until another early playoff exit. But the trade request is looming. We better fix this through conversation and action.

I thinks he waits til summer to see if changes are being made. If they don’t then I see him requesting a trade. Does Brand have the power to replace Brett and trade Ben is the question. Or is he the muppet they hire him to be.

[Negrodamus]

Joel is friends with the owners. If there is any insinuation that he is going to want a trade, I’m sure ownership will make the necessary moves to keep him around.

[ankle420breaker]

Agree this could be the foreshadowing of a trade request. I'm sure our offseason moves were at odds with what Joel wanted and he's been sulking in plain sight all season. He'd actually have a point here considering its January and we're rapidly unraveling.

That said, Joel needs to tone it down, look in the mirror, and drink a tall glass of that accountability stuff. He's in piss poor shape, he's not establishing himself down low, his turnover woes are worse than ever, and his numbers have declined across the board. His lifeless and defeated body language is such a far cry from what any MVP or even DPOY candidate should ever show. He still has some growing up to do.... its a 'best player' responsibility to set the tone and lift the team's collective effort. Joel stopped doing that a long time ago.

Case in point-- Embiid got outhustled by Capela all over the floor last night. Outrebounded, outran, and outscored while his counterpart got it done with much better efficiency. That simply wouldn't have happened last year, but Embiid's competitive nature and fitness level have significantly dropped off over such a short period to the point where he's at a disadvantage in a matchup against a rim running lob catcher.

Sent from my SM-G970U using RealGM mobile app

[Kobblehead]

Wouldn't be surprised if:
Joel lobbying for in-season firing of Brown.
Joel lobbying for in-season trade of Horford.
Joel lobbying for off-season trade of Simmons

Kansas coach Bill Self has been linked recently to the Spurs job. I wonder if he's a guy Joel would lobby for the team to hire this summer, assuming Brown is canned and O'Brien takes over as interim coach to close out the year.

[Mik317]

Joel is just brutally honest with his responses. he hasn't learned the art of double speak like most athletes.

Others would say; "we just gotta stick together and play hard" or some ****.

its a blessing and a curse.

[Kobblehead]

Embiid also responded to Okafor criticism by saying "Jah is good, man, ya'll don't what you're talking about."

[Mik317]

he was boys with Jah.

[VDT]

Yea Embiid is just honest, i would actually be more worried if he started giving more diplomatic answers.

But he is part of the problem, no matter how much he tries to blame the double teams. He is playing with low energy and settles for jumpers a lot.

If the team gets bounced early again there are going to be some massive changes.

[Mik317]

yeah he can;t be out there sleepwalking. spacing be damned.

[VDT]

To be honest i dont think he or the team know how to work around the way he is defended which naturally leads to frustration. Even if we put 4 shooters around him it is still a question whether we can get open shots from the double teams. The team hasnt shown me that yet.

[ProcessDoctor]

He'll perk up once he's paired with another top 15 player he gels with. You can't give him Jimmy Butler, let him walk, and fill that void with Al Horford. Horford brings nothing to supplement JoJo's game. It also put all the pressure on him to be the closer. Haven't we been there and done that?

If any of us were in Jo's shoes, I imagine we'd feel pretty let down by the FO too.