The Philadelphia 76ers have an impressive 9-2 record, which is currently good for first place in the Eastern Conference. Their revamped core is still pretty new, so their offensive design has been far from perfect thus far. However, it is clear that Joel Embiid is not yet comfortable with the new dynamic on their scoring attack. Recently, he said that their offense feels congested –– a blunt assessment which the coaching staff should take in as a plea for help.
When asked about his thoughts following a recent loss to the Cavaliers, which handed the 76ers their second loss of the season, Embiid stated that "everything feels crowded," referring to their offensive attack. In that game, he finished with just six points, missing all of his nine shots, including two from beyond the arc. He was much better in their next game against the Bulls as he registered 18 points, although he only drained seven of his 19 shots and also misfired on both of his triples.
The 76ers have to give Joel Embiid more breathing room on offense
After the addition of LeBron James and Jaylen Brown, the 76ers' holdovers have to accommodate those stars by altering their approach, and there is no player who has made more drastic changes to his game than Embiid. From being a one-man scoring machine in the post, the former MVP has shifted to becoming a more secondary scorer whose main role is to help score and facilitate out of the high post and space the floor for his other teammates as needed.
Unfortunately for him, Philly has struggled so much from beyond the arc that, with the fewer opportunities he is getting to score for himself and hunt for his own shots, he has had little breathing room to operate. That is only exacerbated by how he is being deployed, as he no longer gets to touch and direct the ball as much, so his rhythm is definitely off a lot of times.
Embiid is still way too talented for the team to get comfortable with the way he is being used. Obviously, no one is a happy camper with his inefficient shooting splits, but the coaching staff has all the time in the world to figure out how to put him in better spots and which players should surround him in order to maximize his elite scoring skills.
Right now, the superstar is playing with suboptimal spacing for the most part, and that definitely does not help his cause to get back to his usual self. That only adds to the challenge of him having to mold his game to cater to his other equally ball-dominant teammates. While this team is moving the ball more than people expected, having little room to operate will only make their scoring attack feel cramped and much easier to deal with than their talent level suggests.
In the end, the 76ers will still go where Joel Embiid takes them, given the unique advantage he presents against nearly all teams in the league. However, if he is not placed under more optimal conditions on the offensive end, that edge he brings will slowly dissipate. Hopefully, the team can help him in that regard as soon as possible.
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