Joel Embiid, although optimistic, is being a realist about how his season is going to play out with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Joel Embiid should be going into this season with high expectations about himself. He is, but at the same time, he’s being a realist about his upcoming rookie season, and what to expect. While Philadelphia 76ers fans are thinking optimistically about him, there’s reason to believe that he may have troubles.
Not only is he entering his first games as an NBA player, he’s coming off of one of the hardest injuries in pro sports to recover from. There’s reason to hope for success, yes, because he has such a solid skill set. But at the same time, there’s road blocks that will come up.
In an article from Keith Pompey, Embiid talked about the troubles he’s been facing in his first few days at training camp.
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"“Everything is kind of off right now as far as catching the ball and shooting… So I’ve still got to get in the flow of the game”"
That’s certainly not the most encouraging thing we could hear from Embiid. Everything is off in regards to catching and shooting? Those two things are foundational aspects of playing basketball.
He’s right though, it takes a while to get in the flow of the game. Luckily, Embiid seems to know that it’s going to come with time.
We should also remember Embiid is battling the flu.
Still, he acknowledges that it’s frustrating.
"“So it’s going to take time…Yeah, it’s kind of hard now, but I think it’s going to come…It’s really frustrating.”"
Of course, Embiid had to pay tribute to Sam Hinkie by dropping a “trust the process” bomb on the media yet again.
"“But like I said, you’ve got to trust the process, which I’ve been doing. I have to keep working on my game and make sure I do the same thing over and over.”"
Luckily, as far as retaining good information, and learning about the game, Embiid is optimistic that things will come quickly. I’m sure training camp and finally practicing with his teammates was a rude awakening for him.
He probably got quite the crash course in summer league, and over the coming weeks during the preseason, things will start to fall together. Still, as the regular season comes around, we shouldn’t expect him to come out and be a completely polished, final version of the Joel Embiid we want to see.
"“I think I’m the type of guy that’s going to learn fast. It’s just going to come when it comes.”"
Still, as the regular season comes around, we shouldn’t expect him to come out and be a completely polished, final version of the Joel Embiid we want to see.
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At the same time as being a realist, Embiid believes he’s the best player on the floor. In another article from Pompey, Embiid said this:
"“I feel like I’m the best player on the floor… So I’m just going to do my job on the floor. I’m just going to do what coach [Brett Brown] wants me to do: Be a defensive piece, and when I’m needed to be a scorer, I’m going to be that.”"
This is good to see from Embiid. He’s being a realist, but keeping a competitive mindset, and really believing in himself. If he has that to build on for the regular season, he should be set up well to compete for the year.
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As the years come along, if Embiid can balance being a realist with being a competitor, there’s reason to expect a lot from him.