As expected, Nick Nurse made Joel Embiid his number 1 weapon to keep the Sixers among the contenders for the Eastern Conference podium. Thanks to his physical impact, last season’s MVP has already destroyed a few rackets, using his dominance in the paint (and his skill with free throws) to extinguish his direct opponents in turn. He had never been so active in scoring with more than 21 attempts on average per match.
But what makes the big difference at the start of the year is his activity as the last passer. While he averages 6 assists for the moment, he once again distinguished himself in this category on Friday, delivering eight caviars in the 126-116 success against the Hawks.
“He’s always been willing to pass, but this year he really got into it. He’s not worried about scoring 50 points every night, you know what I mean? He wants to win”, said Danuel Housewho notably benefited from the good vision of his pivot to score in an armchair.
The lethal Weapon
We can also think of this first match against Indiana this season, when he gave the ball to Tyrese Maxey so that his leader killed the match, and incidentally reached the 50 point mark.
The departure of James Harden, the NBA’s best passer last season, has changed the Sixers’ game, and Embiid must bring more to the creation. For his part, the reigning MVP justifies this trend in this match by the defensive tactics chosen by Atlanta, pushing him to let go of the ball to find his most open teammates.
“The Hawks want to blitz pick-and-rolls, so I often found myself with the ball just to create. Most of the time an extra defender would advance on me, which meant there were two wide open guys on the other side.”he confided. “I never liked being just an isolation player. I don’t think it’s the right way to play, and I don’t think it’s the right way to win.”
The poor man’s Jokic?
In isolation as well as at the head of the racket, it is his readings of the game that will make him an even more formidable and complete player than he already is. In preseason, his new goal was to “to make things easier for others, and to try to involve my teammates as much as possible.” And the results are starting to be seen at the start of the regular season.
For Tyrese Maxey, it is the best compromise to unite the group behind him and thus continue to get the best out of it. “He’ll need guys to help him score points. He will also need them to help him create space. And because he trusts his teammates, he will have more opportunities.”
There is no doubt that Joel Embiid will still want to shine this evening on the floor of Nic Claxton’s Nets, one of his opponents from the last playoffs.
| Joel Embiid | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2016-17 | PHL | 31 | 25 | 46.6 | 36.7 | 78.3 | 2.0 | 5.9 | 7.8 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 20.2 |
| 2017-18 | PHL | 63 | 30 | 48.3 | 30.8 | 76.9 | 2.3 | 8.7 | 11.0 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 3.7 | 1.8 | 22.9 |
| 2018-19 | PHL | 64 | 34 | 48.4 | 30.0 | 80.4 | 2.5 | 11.1 | 13.6 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 27.5 |
| 2019-20 | PHL | 51 | 30 | 47.7 | 33.1 | 80.7 | 2.8 | 8.9 | 11.6 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 23.0 |
| 2020-21 | PHL | 51 | 31 | 51.3 | 37.7 | 85.9 | 2.2 | 8.4 | 10.6 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 28.5 |
| 2021-22 | PHL | 68 | 34 | 49.9 | 37.1 | 81.4 | 2.2 | 9.6 | 11.7 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 30.6 |
| 2022-23 ★ | PHL | 66 | 35 | 54.8 | 33.0 | 85.7 | 1.7 | 8.4 | 10.2 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 33.1 |
| 2023-24 | PHL | 12 | 34 | 50.6 | 31.0 | 88.4 | 3.3 | 7.8 | 11.1 | 6.0 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 3.8 | 1.6 | 31.9 |
| Total | 406 | 32 | 50.1 | 33.6 | 82.1 | 2.3 | 8.9 | 11.2 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 27.3 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
