CAMDEN, NJ — Joel Embiid came up short in the playoffs again. The Philadelphia 76ers and their fans are tired of hearing that same old song but it's the loudest tune in the city after a no-show in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Celtics. Improvements to his scoring repertoire weren't enough for Embiid to get the Sixers over the hump that has been insurmountable for the franchise for over two decades.
After Game 7, Embiid pointed the finger at himself and said he is already working to be better. Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey can make it easier for him by upgrading the roster. But there's something else the team is looking to do in order to help Embiid develop, according to Morey: get him prepared for playoff basketball on the way.
“That was a big conversation with Joel — again, led by Joel, and his credit – and working through like, ‘Hey, how can I make sure I can still get to my spots? How can I make sure that when they are trying to take this away, I have a counter?’ It's something that — I'll just put it on myself — we need to do a better job at during the season,” Morey said in his exit interview from the 2022-23 season, “because the regular season can often be a Wednesday against a bad team and Joel is so good, he can just dominate a game without them doing a lot of keying in.”
Embiid had plenty of games during the regular season where he completely chewed up and spat out basic defenses and poor individual defenders. While it helped the Sixers win, it didn't get him ready for the immense pressure he faces in the playoffs. Morey pointed to opponents like the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets, who brought the type of intensity that Embiid has to learn to overcome in the biggest moments.
“I thought a lot of reps against, say, Toronto or Brooklyn this year, were good that they were guarding him with heavy double teams and different looks,” Morey continued. “We want to try and make sure that we get him those similar kinds of high-intensity defensive looks during the regular season and have that be something he's more comfortable in as we get into the playoffs.”
Embiid once said that the Raptors “don’t care about winning. They just want to shut down the other star players.” Toronto was one of eight teams to hold the Sixers superstar to under 30 points per game in the regular season, forcing him into 10 turnovers and just eight assists across the three games he played against them. The Nets showed similar intensity in stopping Embiid during the first round of the playoffs.
Teams without supreme defensive talent can slow down Embiid but stills struggle to contain the Sixers. The Celtics are a different story. They have shown the ability to throw Embiid off of his game in both the regular season and the playoffs. Games against opponents like that can sharpen Embiid's ability to process the game, which could play a big role in Philly finally making a deep playoff run.
Unlike many other ball-dominant players, Embiid does not have the blow-by speed to get through a defense. What he and the Sixers must do is figure out how to give him enough time and space to get into his own offense while allowing for safety outlets (not unlike what the Denver Nuggets do for Nikola Jokic with their frequent off-ball relocation). An offense that can get into a frequent rhythm can be the antidote to unlocking Embiid's ability to consistently dominate late in the postseason.
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