Philadelphia 76ers: This is Joel Embiid’s time
The Philadelphia 76ers fanbase is in for a Joel Embiid-sized treat this holiday season.
Maybe it’s too early in the season to be so assuming in my position. But with the Philadelphia 76ers currently undefeated with Joel Embiid in the lineup, I can’t help to take a leap of faith. Yes, I know, two games in? C’mon. Pump the brakes, let the year progress before pushing all the chips to the middle of the table. So, saying the Sixers will win the NBA title this year after three games? Yeah, not a good idea.
However, saying that after three games, it is Joel Embiid’s time to take that leap into elite status? An absolute and emphatic yes.
Joel is a throwback to the NBA glory days when the keys to the kingdom lay at the feet of a dominant big man who could put a franchise on his back and carry them to glory. Well, those days are all but extinct. Big men are still vital pieces of a championship team, evidenced by the Lakers pursuit, and eventual signing of Anthony Davis, which culminated in a Lakers NBA championship. Now, big men have to be versatile on both ends of the floor, step out to shoot an occasional three, or ten (Kelly Olynyk), and guard stretch big men and wing players.
Joel Embiid can do it all. He is arguably the best center in the league. It’s also very clear that his mindset to dominate in the paint is what sports minds like Stephen A. Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’ Neal have been clamoring for. Doc Rivers has run the offense through Embiid and the results have shown in his current stat line of 28.0 points per game, 12 rebounds a game, shooting a career high 58 percent from the field, with one block per game.
Those numbers will fluctuate through the year, but a statement is being made by Embiid: he is refusing to settle for bail-out jumpers when there isn’t many in the league that can handle his combination of size, skill, and strength.
When Embiid is locked in, he is a nightmare for opposing defenses. For the first time in his career, maybe he has finally realized it. Take his quote from the Sixers opening night victory over Washington: “I don’t think anybody can stop me, especially with the mentality I have this year.”
Realization is a powerful thing. It turns good into great, and great into elite. It’s why the memory of Kobe Bean Bryant still resonates with us nearly a year later. Joel has realized that he is not only great, but elite. That’s scary for the NBA, joy for Sixers fans.
The season still has to play out, but things are trending in the right direction for the Sixers. Doc Rivers has them playing with confidence, and renewed focus, and has Joel Embiid playing in his optimal position. Joel looks primed to take the next step.
Next. Ranking every player on the Sixers roster. dark
Sixers nation, Savage Embiid has returned.