Is Joel Embiid still a dominant two-way player? Or has he become a liability on the defensive end as he (understandably) prioritizes his health and doesn't go full blast as a rim protector anymore? Or is the truth somewhere in the middle?
Bill Simmons of The Ringer was blunt in his assessement of Embiid's interior defense. "He doesn't protect the rim anymore... The rim protection stats with him were terrible last year," Simmons said about the 2023-24 NBA MVP.
And on first look, Simmons is onto something. Yes, Embiid's block numbers were way down to a career-low 0.9 per game last season, and his defensive BPM was minus-0.3. Yes, he gave up an opposing field goal percentage of 67.0 within five feet of the rim — not a great mark. And yes, sometimes the eye test would tell you that Embiid's dominant days as a deterrent might be behind him.
But is that because he can't be that player anymore, or because he's being more cautious on the court and doing so to protect his long-term health? Perhaps more importantly, does the answer to that question matter? Because if Embiid really has taken a considerable downturn as a paint protector, does it matter why it's happening? And if he is doing it to protect his health, that's probably a permanent change, not a temporary one, meaning this version of Embiid is probably the one we'll see for the rest of his career.
Joel Embiid is the ultimate Catch-22
If you want Embiid to be the dominant, two-way force that he has been for most of his career, you have to be willing to risk leaving him more exposed to potential injuries. If you want Joel Embiid to play more than 40ish games per season, you have to concede him no longer giving his all on both ends of the court every single night — specifically as a paint protector.
It's not a fun situation to be in, but it's probably the one Philadelphia finds itself in for the remaining years of Embiid's career. And if you surveyed Sixers fans, most would probably prefer to have Embiid on the court more often than not, even if it means he's not the perennial DPOY candidate he was years ago.
So, sure, maybe Bill Simmons is right. But whether Joel Embiid is an elite rim protector anymore is not really the most of Sixers fans worries right now. That would be, like, everything else that's going on.