Philadelphia 76ers: Tall Ball Neutralizes Joel Embiid Too Much

The Philadelphia 76ers trotted out a tall ball rotation featuring both Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid to start the game against the Toronto Raptors Wednesday night — and it didn’t work well.

The concept of tall ball is something that has excited Philadelphia 76ers fans for a while now. With Joel Embiid waiting in the shadows over the past few seasons, the tendency to fantasize about a potential two-big man rotation has been extremely common.

Don’t compromise Embiid’s success for Okafor’s

While I’m not saying Okafor’s success is unwanted, it shouldn’t come at the expense of Joel Embiid’s. Okafor got some nice looks at the rim and was given ample space to operate on the low block, but Embiid was essentially pushed to the offensive periphery.

Allowing Embiid to stand on the outside without touching the ball doesn’t maximize the offensive potential of the most gifted player in the Sixers’ rotation, not mention the fact that he has a much more stable long term niche with Philadelphia. Okafor takes away from the expansiveness of his game, and that shouldn’t be the case for extended time periods.

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What’s most impressive about Embiid offensively is his footwork on the interior. He’s incredibly mobile in finding his way around the paint, and can utilize his size to carve out space in a manner few can. His perimeter shooting is a viable weapon, but it doesn’t work as the sole focus of his offensive game plan. He needs to have room to operate inside in order for his outside shot to keep the defense off balance, and that’s not always the case with Okafor eating space inside.

This is about prioritizing talent, and in the process making sure that Embiid is the go-to man offensively — not a decoy on the 3-point line.

Don’t fall in love with the fallacies of Embiid at the four

There were times during that game against Toronto where we saw Embiid do things we haven’t yet seen — but that doesn’t mean that’s something the team should fall back on.

Embiid’s dribble penetration and ensuing passing was a nice touch on the outside, but it’s not the strong suit of his game. While it’s certainly nice to see Embiid working as the assist-man en route to the basket, asking him to give up other aspects of his game is a bad idea.

He’s at his best when looking for his own offense, and not operating as a prototypical stretch four. There are obvious reasons to draw optimism from him passing the ball at a high level, but it once again ties back to optimizing the right talent on the roster.

Embiid’s best moments come when he’s working his way inside from the elbow or catching the ball on the low block. The rest of his game builds around that interior skill, and shouldn’t be merely a way to unlock space for a less talented player in Okafor. The offense finds it’s most consistent success when flowing through Embiid, not around him — and that’s something Brett Brown has to enforce.

Defensive concerns and long-term planning should deny tall ball

Okafor’s energy was on full display early on in the game against Toronto, but that’s not something to draw any extensive conclusions from. Okafor is a defensive liability in almost every facet, and asking Embiid to cover too much ground as only capable defender in the frontcourt is a risky bet.

Much akin to Noel’s limited defensive success alongside Jah last season, Embiid can’t protect the rim as effectively to when pushed alongside a post-heavy player like Okafor. The team adjusts by covering up Jah’s weaknesses by limiting him to the paint, and in turn we see Embiid playing outside of his comfort zone more defensively.

Embiid is a special defensive talent, and he can still rack up numbers — tallying a pair of blocked shots in the Toronto game. With that said, blocked shots aren’t the most telling statistic. A pair of chase down blocks underneath can be somewhat misleading statistically, as is doesn’t encompass the majority of the game.

The verdict

There is clearly less ground for Embiid to dominate his most successful areas of the court when he’s playing alongside Okafor, and that’s a problem all-around.

The flashes of success will always be there, but the fact remains relatively simple. The Sixers are better off long-term letting Embiid flourish on his own. This is a league built around versatility, and Okafor’s presence alongside him doesn’t embody that. There are limitations with tall ball lineups that wouldn’t otherwise be present, and the benefits just don’t outweigh the negatives in this case.

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I’m all for the Sixers trying new lineups as they figure out their identity, but versatility should be the name of the game moving forward. Tall ball has it’s appeal, but in today’s NBA it’s not all that effective in every case — and Embiid and Okafor is one of those. This is a team that will have a lot of moving pieces in the foreseeable future, and compromising Embiid’s role is a poor game plan to push forward nightly.