While they just notched their first loss of the season, the Philadelphia 76ers are still in great shape to kick off their campaign. They are still tied for the second-best record in the East, and they are just starting to get their key players back from injury, which is particularly a game-changing thing for this group.
Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe have done the heavy lifting thus far with Joel Embiid taking on a more secondary role, although that can also be tossed up to the superstar being on a stern minutes restriction. The coaching staff is keeping his minutes low for now, and while he may not like it, it has become imperative due to the huge, attendant injury risk surrounding him on the constant.
But going back to his role, the 76ers need Embiid to permanently take a backseat to his younger teammates in Maxey and Edgecombe. While he will — and should — still be a featured option on this squad, he will have to make the necessary adjustments to his game in order to give the team a quicker outlet to unleash its full potential.
Put simply, the former Most Valuable Player will have to reinvent himself once more.
The 76ers need Joel Embiid to do the little things more often than he did before
Maxey and Edgecombe will be the future centerpieces for this team, but they are also arguably their best ones at present with Embiid still being limited. However, while that damper is only temporary for Embiid, the 76ers need him to fully embrace his current streamlined role and then some.
Stated more directly, Embiid needs to take on a more facilitative role to make life easier for the team’s electric backcourt. Currently, he is averaging the second-most assists per outing per 36 minutes in his career. That is already telling of what he is doing well thus far, but it should also be a signal of what should the dynamic be moving forward.
Sure, Embiid may not measure up to Jokic when it comes to passing the rock and setting his teammates up for easy baskets, but he is easily an above-average passer for a center. That is something the coaching staff should explore and slowly implement as a default MO for this squad.
Getting Embiid to commit to actively being a facilitator will unlock Maxey and Edgecombe — that is pretty apparent. However, that should also come with the added benefit of him getting to preserve his body more.
While some would think that Embiid morphing into mroe of a playmaking hub will be a waste of his unstoppable scoring prowess, that shift would not only be practical, but also wise for the 76ers for those reasons mentioned. So far, he appears to be very willing to take on that mantle, which is precisely what will benefit the team in both the short and long run.