Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid is beyond talented, but he isn’t flawless.
If there’s one thing Joel Embiid is, it’s gifted. At 7-foot-2, 285 pounds, the Cameroonian didn’t play basketball until his junior year in high school. Since the he was hurt towards the end of his only season at Kansas, and played just 31 games over the course of three years in the NBA — and he’s still one of the best players in the world.
He learns the game at a nearly impossible rate, adding different weapons to an arsenal no player his size should have. His ability to improve is something he doesn’t get enough credit for, and getting as good as he is with such limited exposure to basketball isn’t something that happens naturally. He worked his tail off to get here.
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Embiid is now one of the league’s best defensive centers, showing mobility in space while blocking shots at a rate similar to Rudy Gobert and Anthony Davis. He’s also versatile offensively, from a legit 3-point shot to one of the most advanced and physically-overwhelming post games of this generation.
All of this equates to Embiid, when healthy, being a potential top 10 player in the NBA — with room to move up. It all comes down to that one nagging disclaimer: if he’s healthy.
Embiid’s health issues date back to Kansas, so saying one individual kink in his game is the result of all his injury concerns is foolish. He’s somebody whose size and bulk isn’t always conducive to sustainable joints, and that’s an issue that virtually every big man his size has to deal with over the course of their career.
One thing Embiid does that others don’t, however, is make himself susceptible to injuries on the court. Not by being big, but by landing haphazardly and showing little restraint when going to the floor.
There’s nothing wrong with being aggressive, and that’s part of the charm with Embiid as a player. He’s insanely skilled and physically superior to just about everyone he faces, yet it’s his energy level that often puts him over the top. He’s willing to go right at someone like Hassan Whiteside, and he seldom shows hesitancy when doing so.
Players can be aggressive to a fault, though, and that’s the case with Embiid and his health. He injured his knee on a bad landing last season, not anything considered a longstanding issue. The drives to the rim that end with him on the floor or his flamboyant dives into the stands are fun, but they’re also unnecessarily dangerous.
A lot of that comes down to bodily control as well. Embiid never seemed to get his feet underneath him last season, and that has translated to his brief preseason stint this fall. He doesn’t maintain great balance when making quick moves to the rim or attempting to make plays defensively, and that leaves him at risks for those scary falls or painfully abnormal landings.
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It’s something the Philadelphia 76ers‘ training staff needs to work on persistently, whether that means more leg workouts or a simple conversation about how he approaches the game. He needs to make sure he’s being as cautious as (reasonably) possible.
That doesn’t mean he needs to take his foot off the proverbial gas peddle. I’m not asking Embiid to change up his game entirely, nor do I think he should be less aggressive in any one aspect. It’s Embiid’s two-way presence that’s going to carry the Sixers to the postseason, and perhaps beyond.
It’s about his approach and the manner is which he executes certain actions. There are ways to grab steals, make blocks or drive baseline without ending up on the floor or risking an incorrect knee flex. He needs to find that balance — quite literally — between aggressiveness and control.
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The guy has all the talent in the world. Now it’s time to preserve that for as long as possible.