The self-proclaimed “Process” is ready to grace the NBA world with his presence. After being sidelined for two seasons due to multiple surgeries on his right foot, Joel Embiid is finally playing for the Philadelphia 76ers instead of sitting for them. The third pick of the 2014 NBA draft is now healthy and has shown some nice flashes during the NBA pre-season.
Averaging 12.6 minutes a game, Embiid shows strong talent on the offensive and defensive ends. He is averaging 5.5. points a game, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. He has already had his big matchup against Boston Celtics all-star, Al Horford. That’s a big task for a debut game, so he is getting the full NBA experience early. What is really impressive is that the seven-footer can shoot the long ball. That is a huge bonus for the 76ers, especially if a guy like Horford is just now feeling his rhythm from behind the arc at the age of 30 and Embiid is feeling it at 22. Another interesting thing about Embiid’s preseason games is that his coach, Brett Brown, shows full support of him by letting him start games instead of coming off the bench.
“I think that (Joel) is going to be the focal point, both offensively and defensively,” Brown said to a local magazine. With a statement like that, Embiid will have a lot on his shoulders during his rookie season. Coah Brown seems to have made a decision on who his leader is with the 2016 number one draft pick, Ben Simmons, sharing the same fate as Embiid and watching the game from the sidelines in the beginning of the season. Embiid will be challenged to score with pure talent and not from the assistance of the unpredictable Simmons who we have seen pass the ball with persistence during NBA Summer League. Just like 76ers fans have waited two years to see Embiid lace up his sneakers, they will have to wait a few months to see him and Simmons together, which should be interesting. What will be more interesting will be how minutes will be shared between the frontcourt tandem of Simmons, Embiid, Dario Saric, Nerlens Noel, and Jahlil Okafor.
How do you make sure players are getting significant minutes that they deserve? This is something Coach Brown needs to figure out fast. His frontcourt consists of great talent. The NBA fans have seen the talent of Noel and Okafor, but a talent that has yet to be mentioned in the headlines is the rookie, Dario Saric. Saric was drafted the same year as Embiid back in 2014 in the first round by the Orlando Magic. He stayed in the Adriatic League overseas and played for two years with Anadolu Efes. While overseas, he became the league’s MVP in 2014 and a Turkish Cup winner in 2015. Now he is finally ready to play with the elite talent in the NBA. In his second preseason game, Saric shot 5-of-7 for 14 points in 18 minutes. Just like Embiid, Saric can hit the three. Brown indicated that Saric would benefit the most with Simmons out, but what can be said about his minutes once Simmons returns?
The 76ers staff will be dealing with a lot of pressure when it comes to the talent of the frontcourt and it should be interesting on how it is dealt with. At the end of the day, some players are not going to be happy with how they are treated due to their potential. The only solution might be to get rid of one or two guys in exchange for some talented guards. Hopefully, the 76ers find a way to build their franchise without hitting the reset button this time.
