The Philadelphia 76ers might start asking Joel Embiid to take more threes.
In all honestly, I don’t think anybody expected the Philadelphia 76ers to be in the position they’re currently in. Most of us expected some sort of playoff push, but contending for home court advantage wasn’t considered much of a possibility last summer.
Most of the Sixers’ success boils down to Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, both of whom look like legitimate stars. Embiid is the best center in the league and the frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year, while Simmons should be a Rookie of the Year lock (sorry, Donovan Mitchell).
Part of what makes Embiid so successful is his post prowess. He’s among the NBA’s most efficient scorers down low, using a variety of moves to carve out space and get to his spots around the paint. He’s also a nifty passer with his back to the basket, something that often gets overlooked.
That’s why Brett Brown’s comments after Friday night’s win over Charlotte were somewhat surprising. He wants Embiid to shoot more threes.
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Embiid is already a capable shooter, hitting 31.4 percent of his deep balls this season. He tends to run hot-and-cold when it comes to shooting on the perimeter, but he’s more than capable of making them. We’ve also seen an uptick in his three-point attempts recently.
Brown’s reasoning for pushing Embiid out to the perimeter more often makes sense. Once the playoffs roll around and the pace slows down, Philly needs to create spacing for the likes of Simmons and T.J. McConnell.
It’s rare that you have a team with two non-shooters at point guard, so Brown has to get creative when opening up space on the floor. The Sixers embody a lot of the pace and space ideals that characterize today’s NBA, and Embiid becoming a consistent floor spacer helps in that regard.
The only potential issue is Embiid hanging out on the perimeter too often. Brown mentioned Embiid taking six-to-eight threes per game, which seems like a high number for somebody who generates so much offense inside.
Additional spacing is nice, but a lot of the Sixers’ offense starts with Embiid drawing in the defense down low and creating based on what matchups become available. The Sixers can’t stray too far away from that.
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As the postseason nears and the Sixers continue to make a push in the Eastern Conference, keep an eye on Embiid’s three-point shooting.