Far too many Sixers seasons in the Process Era have seen their best player compromised by the time the playoffs roll around. MOC looks into whether this might be the year that finally changes.
It’s fine to write about how the Sixers need to manage Embiid differently during the regular season to make sure he is at his strongest in the postseason. ON PAPER that all reads like it makes some sense and solves all the issues with a player like Embiid who has never in his career been healthy for a serious playoff run. But let’s not over-simplify the inherent risk in that strategy. First, as you noted, many of Embiid’s injuries are a result of the WAY he plays ball on the court, not so much how many games he’s played. Embiid flops his big body all over the floor. He dives when he doesn’t need to dive. He clumsily drives to the hoop with wild steps. And he takes a lot of elbows to the face because of his height. As a result, his back could go at any time. His knees are always at risk. It's even more high risk now because of his age. Playoff basketball, as we’ve seen, is rougher. So the Sixers could rest Embiid all they want in the regular season and he could go out and break his face again in game two of a first round playoff matchup. We’ve seen it happen with him before. And then all that regular season resting of Embiid just has contributed to a worse playoff seeding and done nothing positive for us.
Second, it appears you’re suggesting that Embiid will play some entirely new style of basketball in the regular season to preserve his health. Like he’s going to turn into a ball distributor and rebounder and defer to Maxey and George for the scoring in the 55 regular season games he plays. The implication there is that Embiid then reverts to his normal, ball dominant self in the postseason. Or, that this new style of play is what we need in the playoffs to win a title. Both of these possibilities are a bit odd to me. Suggesting the Sixers could play one way with Embiid all season to make it to the playoffs and then flip a switch to play a different style of postseason basketball and WIN that way is far fetched. How many teams have won a title in the last ten years or so having their best player take a very different role all regular season to the role he takes in a championship playoff run? We’ve certainly seen it fail more than succeed. And don’t forget that Paul George will also need games off this season as he’s older than Embiid and has career injury issues. So between games George rests and games Embiid rests, you still need enough games where those guys play together for they to be a high level of comfort by playoff time. Obviously, teams need to use the regular season to perfect their style of play – ESPECIALLY a team that is almost entirely new from last year. Seems pretty silly to suggest this Sixers team will be able to flip a switch and use Embiid differently in the playoffs from how he played all regular season. It also leaves open the possibility that Embiid is simply not in great shape when the playoffs begin because he hasn’t been playing enough games or minutes. “Resting” a generally out-of-shape guy doesn’t help the guy be in better cardio shape for the rigors of NBA playoff games.
So then, if you think his “pass first” declarations will become his new style of play for BOTH the regular season and playoffs, the question becomes whether the Sixers could actually WIN playoff series like that. They’re essentially a team with three star players and a bunch of complementary pieces. If Embiid intends to be the #3 guy of those three stars so as to reduce the risk of injury, then it will be up to either Maxey or George to be the Jimmy Butler or Kawhi Leonard style winning player for the team in the playoffs. Perhaps one of those guys can emerge like that, but neither has ever been THAT GUY before. To be fair, Embiid hasn’t been that either. But SOMEBODY is going to have to win the tough playoff games when everything tightens up in the 4th quarter. If the Sixers are going to change the pecking order with the way they play the regular season, and stick to that in the playoffs for continuity sake, then it’s going to have to be Maxey or George in that role. Tall order.
And finally, I agree with your point that all this requires that Embiid dramatically changes how he behaves on the court. He’s got almost a decade of playing as the ball dominant guy who has the offense run through him and now he’s going to just change? A guy like him has an NBA ego developed over his long career that is going to be the devil on his shoulder screaming at him to take the shot, or dive for the ball, or drive the hoop when he doesn’t need to. I think his sort of schizophrenic Olympic Games performance is less proof that he can take a different role, and more proof that he’s just uncomfortable playing behind other guys. And also, that team was full of veteran stars that Embiid had no choice but to defer to. It wasn’t HIS TEAM. The Sixers are absolutely JoJo’s team. So I’m skeptical that Embiid is the right guy, at the right time in his career, to come up with a new style of play that is less worthy of personal attention because it helps the team play better. Embiid has always been immature for his age and this kind of change requires real maturity from an NBA star.
If I had a say in how it was going to go, I would certainly just build the style of play for the 2024-25 Sixers around a reduced role for Embiid and an increased reliance on Maxey and George. We’ve tried, for too many years, to rely on a team centered on Embiid to win in the playoffs and every time it fails. So to keep pushing that same approach is insanity. We should try it this year with Embiid as the #3 guy on this three-star team and see how it goes.
Amen! If we’re being greedy, we should also want Joel to play at 270 rather than 280+. And please no playing the entire first and third quarters nonsense.
It’s fine to write about how the Sixers need to manage Embiid differently during the regular season to make sure he is at his strongest in the postseason. ON PAPER that all reads like it makes some sense and solves all the issues with a player like Embiid who has never in his career been healthy for a serious playoff run. But let’s not over-simplify the inherent risk in that strategy. First, as you noted, many of Embiid’s injuries are a result of the WAY he plays ball on the court, not so much how many games he’s played. Embiid flops his big body all over the floor. He dives when he doesn’t need to dive. He clumsily drives to the hoop with wild steps. And he takes a lot of elbows to the face because of his height. As a result, his back could go at any time. His knees are always at risk. It's even more high risk now because of his age. Playoff basketball, as we’ve seen, is rougher. So the Sixers could rest Embiid all they want in the regular season and he could go out and break his face again in game two of a first round playoff matchup. We’ve seen it happen with him before. And then all that regular season resting of Embiid just has contributed to a worse playoff seeding and done nothing positive for us.
Second, it appears you’re suggesting that Embiid will play some entirely new style of basketball in the regular season to preserve his health. Like he’s going to turn into a ball distributor and rebounder and defer to Maxey and George for the scoring in the 55 regular season games he plays. The implication there is that Embiid then reverts to his normal, ball dominant self in the postseason. Or, that this new style of play is what we need in the playoffs to win a title. Both of these possibilities are a bit odd to me. Suggesting the Sixers could play one way with Embiid all season to make it to the playoffs and then flip a switch to play a different style of postseason basketball and WIN that way is far fetched. How many teams have won a title in the last ten years or so having their best player take a very different role all regular season to the role he takes in a championship playoff run? We’ve certainly seen it fail more than succeed. And don’t forget that Paul George will also need games off this season as he’s older than Embiid and has career injury issues. So between games George rests and games Embiid rests, you still need enough games where those guys play together for they to be a high level of comfort by playoff time. Obviously, teams need to use the regular season to perfect their style of play – ESPECIALLY a team that is almost entirely new from last year. Seems pretty silly to suggest this Sixers team will be able to flip a switch and use Embiid differently in the playoffs from how he played all regular season. It also leaves open the possibility that Embiid is simply not in great shape when the playoffs begin because he hasn’t been playing enough games or minutes. “Resting” a generally out-of-shape guy doesn’t help the guy be in better cardio shape for the rigors of NBA playoff games.
So then, if you think his “pass first” declarations will become his new style of play for BOTH the regular season and playoffs, the question becomes whether the Sixers could actually WIN playoff series like that. They’re essentially a team with three star players and a bunch of complementary pieces. If Embiid intends to be the #3 guy of those three stars so as to reduce the risk of injury, then it will be up to either Maxey or George to be the Jimmy Butler or Kawhi Leonard style winning player for the team in the playoffs. Perhaps one of those guys can emerge like that, but neither has ever been THAT GUY before. To be fair, Embiid hasn’t been that either. But SOMEBODY is going to have to win the tough playoff games when everything tightens up in the 4th quarter. If the Sixers are going to change the pecking order with the way they play the regular season, and stick to that in the playoffs for continuity sake, then it’s going to have to be Maxey or George in that role. Tall order.
And finally, I agree with your point that all this requires that Embiid dramatically changes how he behaves on the court. He’s got almost a decade of playing as the ball dominant guy who has the offense run through him and now he’s going to just change? A guy like him has an NBA ego developed over his long career that is going to be the devil on his shoulder screaming at him to take the shot, or dive for the ball, or drive the hoop when he doesn’t need to. I think his sort of schizophrenic Olympic Games performance is less proof that he can take a different role, and more proof that he’s just uncomfortable playing behind other guys. And also, that team was full of veteran stars that Embiid had no choice but to defer to. It wasn’t HIS TEAM. The Sixers are absolutely JoJo’s team. So I’m skeptical that Embiid is the right guy, at the right time in his career, to come up with a new style of play that is less worthy of personal attention because it helps the team play better. Embiid has always been immature for his age and this kind of change requires real maturity from an NBA star.
If I had a say in how it was going to go, I would certainly just build the style of play for the 2024-25 Sixers around a reduced role for Embiid and an increased reliance on Maxey and George. We’ve tried, for too many years, to rely on a team centered on Embiid to win in the playoffs and every time it fails. So to keep pushing that same approach is insanity. We should try it this year with Embiid as the #3 guy on this three-star team and see how it goes.
How many teams win titles with a primary option that is a six foot guard?
Amen! If we’re being greedy, we should also want Joel to play at 270 rather than 280+. And please no playing the entire first and third quarters nonsense.