The Sixer Sense
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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 /
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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 /

Spin move

Another option Embiid can try after he’s initiated a properly formed post up against his opponent is to hit them with a spin move. A spin move is an incredibly hard thing to cover. Many players have mastered the art of guarding players who have simple post up skills because it’s very simple. Players are moving in one direction, with not much variability. But as soon as they spin, it’s a deterrent and makes things more varied, thus giving the defense more to think about.

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When the defense has more to think about, they spend all this time trying to figure out how to combat, and before they know it, the ball is in the hoop. Players of Embiid’s size often don’t have the best spin moves, but Embiid’s spins are pretty graceful.

In several of the post up videos, Hanlen tells Embiid to “stay low.” This keeps the ball down and harder to slap at, something Embiid seems to be good at based on the videos. He dribbles the ball once, spins gracefully to the hoop, and with a few steps that aren’t enough to constitute for a travel, he’s at the rim.

Spin moves can be solid ways to get Embiid near the rim when he’s not right on it already, but he can also utilize them to get himself solid fadeaway shots, too.

Next: Side-step and step-back shot