Negrodamus wrote:Ferry Avenue wrote:If we can't identify a team in recent history that's won with a center-centric team -- other than Jokic, who we know is far from a traditional center -- it stands to reason that winning one with such a player would constitute an exception to the rule.
Well I'm glad we've moved on from the silly NFL comparison. I do think it's worthwhile to look at the circumstances behind Embiid's playoff struggles.
I think it's fair to point out the injuries he's had: 2 orbital bone issues in the playoffs. 2 meniscus injuries. Torn ligament in hand. Only missed 7 of a possible 54 playoff games (you should add that to your toughness metrics).
With that aside, his first postseason he lost to the Celtics in the second round who were deeper from top to bottom: Tatum, Rozier, Horford, Smart, Brown. Not terribly surprising because he was just getting started in the playoffs. Also had the mask on from first orbital bone fracture.
Second postseason he lost to the Raptors. Actually played pretty well, especially on defense. Probably the first and only time they put a contending roster around him. Also Embiid showed a willingness to concede shots to Jimmy and Tobias. Lost because Kawhi played one of the best series in recent memory and hit an insane shot. They were also fairly stacked with Siakam, Lowry, Gasol, Danny Green, Ibaka. I mean, there team was designed to defend Embiid and Kawhi was the difference.
Third postseason was against the Celtics. Embiid had pretty insane numbers: 30ppg, 12 rpg, 1.5 spg, 1.3 bpg. The rest of his team was Josh Richardson, Tobias Harris, Shake Milton, Alec Burks, Al Horford.... Putrid. Went against a still healthy Kemba Walker, Tatum, Brown, Smart, Theis, Robert Williams. Unsurprisingly they were swept in the first round.
Fourth postseason was against the Hawks. Embiid played exceptionally well against them: 30ppg, 13rpg, 4apg, 1spg, 2bpg. Why did they lose? Because Ben Simmons had an all time stinker for the entire series. That's our second star. Our depth was Furkan, Matisse, Shake, kind of a rookie Maxey. Once again, our non-Embiid minutes were likely the difference. Atlanta had solid minutes from Trae, John Collins, Gallinari, Huerter, Capela. Almost as iconic as the Raptors demise, we lost this series when Ben passed an easy dunk to goddamn Thybulle in crunch time.
Fifth posteason. Embiid comes into the Heat series with a torn ligament in his thumb, a concussion, and a facemask. Plays terribly. I know, no excuses, even if you can't shoot or see the court because you're wearing this mask. Dude is a bum.
Sixth postseason. Misses first game with a knee sprain. Was enough to miss games in the Nets series. Played poorly and was probably because he rushed back. He didn't really measure his "perceived dog to statistical effectiveness ratio" so rushed back and was deemed a fraudulent star. Probably should have sat the whole series because the narrative continued to be "unavailable when it matters" despite playing the series through injury.
And now we have this season which I won't re-litigate. He looked like he couldn't move out there and was still able to put up 33ppg. He and Maxey did their parts. Basically everyone else on the team was pure doo doo.
So what's the takeaway? I'm going to assume, given your history on the topic, that you'll point out the Kawhi "willing his team to victory" narrative and say Embiid should have done that. However, my retort is that Kawhi hasn't played like that before and hasn't done it since for an entire series. Every other series loss was due to the other team showing up across the roster. There wasn't a herculean effort like the Toronto series. So when Embiid puts up 30+ ppg on decent efficiency, it's incumbent upon the rest of the roster to show up. Rarely have the FO given Embiid the guys capable to doing so.
Alright, well maybe Embiid should be the Jokic of this team and the most juice out of his guys. Well, that's not really his game. Maybe the FO should give Embiid a point guard for once who isn't 35+ years old and is capable of running an offense?
I know you're going to read this and it all appears to be excuses for Embiid. And to be honest, this post isn't for you. You are set in your ways and I'm not going to convince you that Embiid is the right superstar for this team. It's more for everyone else to remember the context for why Embiid can't get out of the second round.
So what has stopped any other team from winning an NBA championship during the Embiid era by making a traditional center its centerpiece?
If Embiid’s injuries are what’s kept the Sixers from doing that during his tenure with the team, then surely you would expect that at least one other team would’ve won an NBA championship with a traditional center as its centerpiece during that period.
In the absence of that, you have to revert to the idea that winning an NBA championship by making a center your centerpiece just isn’t probable.
The problem you folks are having here is that the Embiid sample size is now big enough to make these kinds of conclusions.
