The NBA Has A Joel Embiid PROBLEM..

The NBA Has A Joel Embiid PROBLEM..

Joel Embiid and Paul George both participated in the majority of practice per the Sixers. Paul George has advanced to taking part in threeon-ree drills. Nick Nurse yesterday mentioned that Joel Embiid may play in the final preseason game Friday against Minnesota. He was also cooking everyone in practice. Shout out Derek Bodner for these clips. I found this funny. Tyrese Maxi misses badly and Embiid’s face says it all. He’s like, “What on earth did you just shoot?” And this damn coach in the gray makes a better door than a window. But you see Embiid eventually fading away nothing but net against Paul George. Next time he just says, “I’m too big. There’s nothing you can do.” Same thing to Maxi. His face says it all. He’s like, “Dude, we get it. You’re 7 foot.” The Paul George matchup is back. Three dribbles into the fade away. Shout out Kyle Newbeck for these next clips. He fakes one way, goes the other, and look at poor UB. Took an elbow to the back of the head. Nearly comes up with the block, though. However, finally, Embiid gets some karma for bullying these smaller players. He smokes the layup against VJ Edgecomb. It turns out he also played in the blue and white scrimmage that they have for Sixers fans. Shout out Austin Krell for this footage. Embiid screens for Grimes. He now has two defenders on him. Pass to Embiid. He doesn’t force the three ball. He gets it back while having a major mismatch. He’s doubled. So, he kicks to a wideopen VJ Edgecomb who is slightly out of frame. But no worries, he makes the defense pay. Now we got Maxi flipping it to VJ. Then Grimes. He has two defenders on him. He makes a pass to Maxi who finds Embiid in the middle. Then Embiid finds Barlo in the short corner for the slam jama. On this one, Upre isos. He has nothing. So smartly, he just kicks it out. Embiid bails out everyone with a pump fake. One dribble fadeaway over Andre Drummond. Come on now. But this right here is my favorite clip so far against Janai Broom. One dribble between. Another between. Another between into the jumper. That was silky smooth. Dare I say vintage Joel Embiid. Look at this move from Paul George. He fakes the spin move. Now you’re thinking, “Oh, he’s going into the turnaround jumper. Psych. Ball fake. Maxi falls for it. Step through layup.” That full speed is truly a work of art. Also during that blue and white scrimmage that they held for the fans, Joel Embiid was playing next to Adam Dembona. Sixers Adam posted Nick Nurse seemed optimistic talking about the idea of Embiid and Bona playing together. He said in those lineups Embiid is the four and Bona is the five highlighted high low passing, rebounding and rim protection as areas where that pairing can thrive. I always find it funny fans are discussing whether Joel Embiid can play next to another big man and I’m just sitting there like, “Yeah, he played next to Ben Simmons. He played next to PJ Tucker. He played next to Matise Thyel. He has experience playing next to negative floor spacers. It’s all about who you put next to those two. If you have Tyrese Maxi, Quinn Grimes, and Paul George next to Embid and Bona, I’m sure you can get away with it offensively. But if you’re putting those two next to like Ubé, Dominic Barlo, and Tyrese Maxi, it may get clunky. Defensively, it would be very interesting to see how it works. Nick Nurse mentioned that Joel Embiid is the power forward in that group. However, on defense, I think it’s the opposite. Embiid is the five. You want him around the rim. You don’t want him extending to the perimeter, while Bona, I think you can get away with him playing aggressive and switching on to guards at times, especially if you got Joel Embiid backing him up. But for sure, both Embiid and Bona are accustomed to playing the center role defensively, so that might be an adjustment. Also, let’s just go over some double big lineups that work around the leash. Senon and Steven Adams had a ton of success late in the year for the Rockets and into the playoffs. Why? Because they just outrebounded every single team when they were on the court together. Let’s go to Boston when they were healthy. Al Horford and Kristoffs Porzingis. They were so lethal because they could both extend to the perimeter offensively and shoot three-pointers. And that resulted in maximum spacing for players like Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Cleveland, Evan Mobley and Jared Allen. I mean, they shut the paint off defensively. Those duos work because they have major strengths that teams just can’t handle. The question is, what does Joel Embiid and Adona have? Can they establish an identity together? What will it be? Is it rebounding? Is it rim protection? Who knows? But I think that’s how you stay on the court as a double bing lineup in the modern NBA. That’s all I got though. Definitely stay tuned for Friday’s preseason game. It seems like Joel Embiid is going to play as of now. And also Nick Nurse says he’s basically treating it like a regular season game. I think for sure you’re going to see Maxi, VJ, and Quinn Grimes. The ultimate question will be, is Embiid playing? I can’t wait. Let me know your thoughts below.

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