The Sixer Sense
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Joel Embiid is finding his groove — and that’s frightening for everyone else

By Christopher Kline

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 15: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on during warmups before the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on November 15, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 15: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks on during warmups before the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on November 15, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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After a slow start to the season by his standards, Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is back in a big way after two dominating performances in L.A.

Let’s be real — Joel Embiid wasn’t that great earlier in the season. He was still a physical specimen with an impressive defensive acumen, but was far from reaching the lofty standards he set in the 2016-17 campaign. Turnovers and inconsistency tarnished his first couple of weeks, and left some with reasonable (albeit premature) concerns.

A lot of that tied back to conditioning, something Embiid has been struggling with all season. After spending the better part of the offseason rehabbing his knee and practicing in a limited capacity, it’s not hard to see where Joel’s body fat may have slipped a bit.

Yet even through those supposed struggles, Embiid was considered a top flight center with All-Star potential. His early flaws were glaring, but his general talent was enough to make up for it.

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Now, Embiid is operating at a self-proclaimed 69 percent — and playing pretty dang good while he’s at it.

Last night marked the second time in his career that Embiid reached the 30-point, 15-rebound threshold in a single game. The first time he did so was on Monday, just one game prior to last night’s domination of a Lakers team that gave Embiid minimal resistance underneath.

Embiid also soared well above that threshold, tallying 46 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and seven blocks, something nobody else has done since blocks become an officially recorded stat back in the 1973-74 season. For somebody who still hasn’t played 50 NBA games in his career, that’s an insane line to put up.

It’s also Embiid’s second game playing what can generally be assessed as a full workload, and the second time in which he has hit that threshold. If this is any semblance of a trend, Embiid is going to be something else when operating at full capacity.

This all goes to make a relatively simple point: Joel Embiid is back. His conditioning is getting better, and Brett Brown is making it a point to give Embiid and ball and let him take over games. Nobody can match Embiid physically in the interior, and his ability to knock down shots from the perimeter makes defending him an even more arduous task.

Embiid’s offensive repertoire is special. It’s the perfect blend of throwback skill on the interior and modern versatility. His size and strength allows him to overpower virtually any defender on the block, while his footwork and endless bag of tricks allows him to weave through traffic like no other 7-foot-2 big man can.

Combine that with his shooting, and defending him becomes a moot point. His face-up threat draws defenders into careless reach-ins, which in turn gets Embiid to the foul line. He’s also an easy pick-and-pop threat alongside Ben Simmons, which further diversifies the ways in which he can help the offense.

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Now that he’s operating at full speed and seems to be converting possessions that were previously ending in turnovers, there’s no reason not to make Embiid the unmitigated focal point of this offense. Allow Simmons to run the show, but getting the ball to Embiid and letting him go to town on opposing bigs is something that could a) take opposing centers out of the game and b) win a lot of ball games.

He’s also a beast on defense. Embiid racked up seven blocks against the Lakers, and did so while carrying a rather substantial burden offensively. A lot of the Sixers’ success still comes from defense, and Embiid is the driving force on that side of the ball.

Embiid has the potential to become one of the most individually dominant offensive players in the league, as well as an perennial All-Defensive team member. At his best, Embiid is a top 10 talent in the NBA. That’s not a hot take. That’s not a projection. That’s a fact.

Next: Is LeBron-to-Philly crazy?

Oh, and the Sixers have Ben Simmons too. Isn’t that something?