Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid Bar Higher Than Expected

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Dec 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) looses control of an alley-oop pass in front of Los Angeles Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. (7) during the second half at Wells Fargo Center. The Los Angeles Lakers won 100-89. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle…

On a well developed team, with plenty of talent around him, Joel Embiid could certainly hold his own. But on the Philadelphia 76ers, particularly one sans Ben Simmons, Embiid will draw more than his share of defender’s attention. That undue attention makes his performance all the more amplified.

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Joel Embiid’s versatility and pure athleticism has given rise to a new NBA term: the stretch-five. But with the Philadelphia 76ers in need of talent at so many positions, it’s tempting to slide Embiid out to the four and see if there is any synergy paired up with Jahlil Okafor.

Ultimately, head coach Brett Brown wants to play his five best players. While all permutations of a starting five include Embiid, the rigidity of Jahlil Okafor at center has required Brown to give Embiid a look at the four.

While the early pairing has mixed results, be patient. It’s a tough move to pull off on the fly in the NBA. But this is Joel Embiid, a young man who is still just 18 games into this stellar NBA career.

If anyone can pull out the nearly impossible, Embiid can.