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Sixers center Joel Embiid and his coaches have been firm believers in the rebirth of “bully-ball” — a style of play that was commonplace in the NBA even up to the early 2000s, one which slowly faded with the refinement of the 3-point shot and advanced analytics, which rewarded it as a more valuable shot.
Embiid possesses the right frame to be the first power center to bring it back since Shaquille O'Neal, with 7 feet and 260 pounds of chiseled mass that can punish any of his opponents inside.
Article Continues Below“I think I'm unstoppable inside… with the new foul system, I mean, I create so much contact that every time they touch me, is a foul, so I have to take advantage of that,” said Joel Embiid, according to Anthony Gilbert of NJ.com.
Despite a brilliant breakout season in 2017-18 that saw them win 16 straight games to finish off the regular season and nab the third seed in the East, the Philadelphia 76ers are taking it up a notch once again, swapping lauded marksman J.J. Redick for Markelle Fultz in the starting lineup, while giving Embiid the role of a true center.
“The expectations are driven by me. I came out and said what I said in relation to our team goal,” said head coach Brett Brown. “I'm not going to hide from that, I own it. We work daily to try to go play in the championship, try to find a way to win a championship … that's the only reason, as I said, I'm here and my messaging to our group and we don't avoid any of it. I get the responsibility, owning that comment, but we're not hiding from any expectations. We're using it as motivation.”
The Sixers are expecting to take over the Eastern Conference and perhaps this new look to their offense is what makes it possible. They're a sparkling 2-0 in preseason thus far, which only brings high hopes for the Philly faithful.
