4. Joel is the best post player in the NBA
When modern players rarely post up, this is not saying much. That also means that modern players should not be as good at defending down low because they see the post-up so seldom, yet Embiid seems to be stymied by anyone strong who plays him rough (Marc Gasol, Jonas Valanciunas, Marcin Gortat, just to name a few). The more physical the opposition plays Joel, the faster he moves outside and settles for jumpers.
He has made the argument lately that the officiating prevents him from playing like an old-style post-up player, and that he is no longer allowed to use his elbows and his body. That is complete nonsense. No one is telling him to swing elbows and the rules allow him to make any post-up moves that he wants without any advantage to the defender. Plus, when you show the officials a series of moves, the officiating adapts to the star players, a la James Harden.
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At the risk of calling him soft, Embiid seems to only try to enforce his will when the players are smaller and weaker than him. That’s why the best games of his career have not come against great teams, but against bad ones with smaller centers. 42 points and 18 rebounds against Deandre Ayton and the Suns, the same 42 and 18 against a bad Hornets team, 49 this past season against a bad Hawks team, the famous coming out party against the young, terrible Lakers where he scored 46 with 15 boards, seven assists, and seven blocks.
He puts up huge numbers on nobodies. Sure, there have been other nice games against good teams, no one is saying he isn’t a very good player. But he tends to only dominate when it’s easy.
If anyone forgets what great post play looks like, Google footage of Kevin McHale and Hakeem Olajuwon. They were among the best ever (and by the way, are still available to bring in and work with Joel) to play down low and you almost immediately will spot the differences between them and Embiid. They were decisive, never taking more than one or two dribbles when attacking, so those pesky double teams couldn’t bother them. They began their post-up by establishing position about 15 feet from the rim, closer if possible.
The “low block” is where a post-up should ideally start, and that is the free throw lane hash mark closest to the basket. When Joel catches the ball 22 feet from the rim, we have to stop calling that a “post-up” simply because the defender is leaning on him and playing behind him. That is literally the worst position for Joel to catch the ball because it forces him to put the ball on the floor and take 4-5 dribbles while he decides what to do, often resulting in either a turnover because he has wandered out to speedy guard territory, or a lethargic, lazy 18 foot jumper.
Great post play involves having moves prepared in your head, complete with counter moves, to adjust to whatever the defense does. Done properly, with someone as talented, strong, and quick as Embiid, good things should happen 70 percent of the time he touches the ball inside of 15 feet.
None of that even factors in that he still, after six years does not possess the one shot that makes it all work, the jump hook. He should have a consistent jump hook with either hand that he can use to strike fear into defenders so that all the other moves are more effective. At 7-foot-2, he is so big and strong that if he went straight up with a jump hook he would either get fouled or comfortably get his shot off 6-8 feet from the rim every time. Instead, he oddly chooses to bail out the smaller, weaker opposition by shooting fallaway jumpers.