The Sixer Sense
Fansided

Things Joel Embiid Showed Off in His Recent Twitter Video

By Josh Wilson

Feb 8, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid practices prior to a game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 8, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid practices prior to a game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
Feb 8, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid practices prior to a game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 8, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid practices prior to a game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Post-up

One of the biggest things Embiid showed off in the video was his ability to get in the paint in the lower block and put a hurting on his defender with his huge body. Not many physiques can step up to Embiid’s size, and if he has the right technique to body defenders without fouling, he’s going to be unstoppable in the paint.

Of course, in this video, he’s bodying up Drew Hanlen, who is just 5-11 and 180 pounds, which is over a foot shooter and nearly 100 pounds lighter than Embiid, so it’s not all that impressive that Embiid can body him up in the paint, but his technique is solid.

Embiid goes into his post-up with solid form, it doesn’t appear sloppy in any sense. He’s tight, controlled, and has a handle on the ball. Some other players with his size can body up players, but lose concentration on the ball or their center of balance in the process. The form that Embiid is demonstrating shows that this is unlikely to happen to him.

Hanlen, several times in this video, preaches to Embiid, “get low.” This keeps the ball out of the air as much as possible, making it hard for defenders to sneak in and poke the ball out. He needs to keep his center of gravity small for that balance to stay on point as well, which he seems to be doing well.

Next: Finishing power