Philadelphia 76ers: 5 Areas Where Joel Embiid Has Improved

Apr 8, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Injured Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) practices prior to a game against the New York Knicks at Wells Fargo Center. The New York Knicks won 109-102. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 8, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Injured Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) practices prior to a game against the New York Knicks at Wells Fargo Center. The New York Knicks won 109-102. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
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Feb 11, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers, Joel Embiid looks on during the first half of a game between the Temple Owls and the Connecticut Huskies at Liacouras Center. The Temple Owls won 63-58. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 11, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers, Joel Embiid looks on during the first half of a game between the Temple Owls and the Connecticut Huskies at Liacouras Center. The Temple Owls won 63-58. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

3-point shot

Lastly, and this likely goes had in hand with the improved form of shot that Embiid has put into his skill-set, is his 3-point shot. Embiid will probably never be a heavy volume 3-point shooter in the NBA, but it will certainly help the offense if he’s able to nail a couple critical 3-pointers a game.

We’ve seen him go from hitting very few of his attempted long-balls to hitting several of his attempted shots. It seems as if over the last two seasons, improving his mechanics on his shot has allowed him to become a much better 3-point shooter.

I mentioned that Embiid’s mechanics remind me of Chris Bosh’s, but it would also be cool if Embiid could be a 3-point shooting big man just like Bosh is as well. I don’t see him being as good as Bosh is in that realm at any point, but it’s been good to see him make improvements beyond the arc over the last few years.

He could definitely become an athlete that could hit a few 3-pointers on any given night.

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Of course, all of his improvements have been with no defense, and that added variable will not be easy to overcome for Embiid.