Philadelphia 76ers: Who should be the closer?
By Uriah Young
Joel Embiid
How clutch can Joel Embiid be? Although he’s yet to hit a buzzer beater for a win, he has had a few games where he hit some big shots in the fourth quarter. What is in his toolbox?
He’s able to face up and shoot a jumper over opponents. Embiid also has a clever pump fake that sometimes gets him an open lane to the basket. (Remember the windmill against the Raptors?) His best asset in this situation is his ability to draw a shooting foul. Being a solid 80 percent free-throw shooter does lend some comfort to fans if he has the ball in his hands in crunch time.
Here’s the downside. Embiid proclaims to want the offense to run through him and that he has full confidence in his game to score. Yet we know he tends to put a lot of pressure on himself and has fallen short on occasions.
Playing hero ball for Embiid is not very tantalizing for Sixer fans, considering he disappeared against the Raptors last year and missed the final shots of semifinals Game 5 versus the Celtics two years ago. We know he can be turnover prone, and as opponents look to swipe the ball away from him with the game hanging in the balance, it would behoove opponents to double team Embiid.
As stated before, he has come up short in the playoffs. Maybe this year will be different. Until his game speaks louder than his tweets, he is not a first option in my book.