Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has had a very promising start to the preseason. His solid performances included glimpses of his post moves and shot blocking ability that proved to his team's top brass that he was worth the wait.
After sitting out the past two seasons due to a pair of procedures done on his injured foot, the 7-foot-2 big man has drawn high expectations from the Philly faithful as well as his head coach, Brett Brown.
The 55-year-old bench tactician was left impressed with Embiid's skills. Speaking to Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly, he discussed his plan for the Kansas product once the season starts.
“I think that he is going to be the focal point both offensively and defensively.”
The former San Antonio Spurs assistant coach also compared the Cameroonian to the younger-version of a future Hall of Famer and one of the game's all-time greats.
“You see him and he just has ‘it,” Years ago, you saw it with [Tim] Duncan. I see it with him in regards to a real target offensively and a real sort of centerpiece defensively.”
Being compared to The Big Fundamental has its pros and cons. The recently retired five-time NBA champion is widely considered as the greatest power forward to play the game and Embiid still has a long way to go to even be in the same conversation as Duncan. But seeing promise from him this early speaks a lot about his potential.
And when asked about his decision of making the 22-year-old the team's go-to-guy, Brown kept things realistic and as they've shown in the past two years, will be very patient with their rookie.
“We all know it’s going to take time. We all get it. Nobody can rush what is unfair. We’re going to expect growth. There’s going to be some stumbling blocks. But I believe that his potential, his upside, his desire to be great is real. I think that his talent, if we keep him nice and healthy, has the chance to allow me to do what I just said.”
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