CAMDEN, NJ – He scored and rebounded at a rate eclipsed by only one player at his position in NBA history.
His free throw shooting percentage proved to be a dependable weapon for a man his size.
Most important, he stayed on the court, a healthy and durable presence.
That, however, was when the games didn’t count. The challenge now for Joel Embiid will be to transform his promising pre-season accomplishments into consistent regular season contributions.
“When you look at the good stuff, he does things in a game that, really, you step back and say, ‘Wow,’” Brett Brown said prior to last Friday’s pre-season finale. “He’ll trail and hit a three. He’ll have a pound-pound drop-step dunk. He’ll turn and face and make his bank shot. He has the up and under stuff, the Hakeem [Olajuwon] stuff.”
“It’s new to him, it’s raw,” continued Brown. “He really has a chance to be very, very, very good.”
Over seven outings in his first NBA preseason, Embiid manufactured 11.4 points and 6.0 rebounds in 14.7 minutes per game. On a per-minute basis, that production translated to 0.8 points and 0.4 rebounds.
Wilt Chamberlain is the lone center to ever have exceeded those marks. He pumped out 1.0 point per minute in 1961-1962, and generated either 0.5 or 0.6 boars per minute seven times in his career.
Embiid believes the last four weeks have prepared him well for the Sixers’ 82-game slate, which starts Wednesday at The Center against Oklahoma City.
“We started off pretty rough,” he admitted Sunday, reflecting on the evolution he’s undergone since the Sixers began the preseason with an October 4th 92-89 win over Boston.
That night, at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Embiid battled a pair of respected veterans, the aggressive Amir Johnson and powerful Al Horford. From there, the rookie would face Washington’s Marcin Gortat (“he’s really strong”), Memphis’ Marc Gasol, and Miami’s Hassan Whiteside before exhibition play was over.
“Every night, it just different bigs,” said Embiid. “They have different ways of guarding you. I felt like I held my own against them.”
On the offensive end, regardless of whether he was isolated in single coverage, or contending with double teams, Embiid still managed to deliver a consistent impact. Making his inside game that much more dangerous was his success from the foul line, where he sunk 27 of 33 free throw attempts (81.8 percent).
An area for improvement that Embiid has already prioritized is his shooting efficiency, after he converted just under 45.0 percent of his total pre-season field goal tries. Worth noting, though, is that Embiid landed nearly 68.0 percent of his attempts from within 10 feet of the rim. Twenty one of the 32 total shots he missed came from 10 feet out or farther.
“As a big guy, I should be shooting over 50.0 percent,” Embiid said, “so I got to correct that. Like I’ve said in the past, the game is starting to get easy for me.”
One reason why is because the 22-year is starting to get a better understanding of and feel for the Sixers’ point guard stable. He’s also been pleased with his shot selection in recent contests, particularly Friday’s tilt in Miami.
As the regular season gets underway, Brown expects the speed of the game to eventually slow down for Embiid, sidelined the past two seasons with right foot trouble.
“He’s as self-taught as any player I’ve been around,” said Brown. “Right now, his mind is quicker than his feet. At times, his core, his balance, at times his decision-making is off because his mind is working faster than his body. He hasn’t been used to playing.”
“You just got to take it game-by-game, and just get better,” said Embiid.
The Kansas product trended that way during the preseason. He’s eager for there to be carryover, starting Wednesday night.
“I can’t wait,” Embiid said. “That’s going to be my first official NBA game. I just can’t wait until I finally get that first game.”
The moment is only about 72 short hours away.
