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You don’t need to dive too deep into the numbers to see that the Sixers’ attempt to integrate an oft-injured Joel Embiid has been rocky. In the 112-108 loss to the Lakers, Embiid shot 4-for-21 from the field. In the nine games he has played thus far, the 2022-23 MVP is shooting 40.7 percent from the field and 20.9 percent from three. His scoring (18.2 points) and rebounding (5.6 boards) are both career lows. The eye test tells the same story: Embiid looks heavy, settles for perimeter shots, and moves sluggishly. He is simply not the same player.
As limited as Embiid is offensively right now, he still has gravity. The Lakers doubled him frequently, which at least opened things up for his teammates. On defense, there are no such bright spots. The eye test is pretty clear there as well: Embiid is not doing the defensive job a player with his size is supposed to do. On paper, the shot blocking is still there, with 1.3 blocks per game, but that number does not reflect his struggles.
First, the Sixers have a serious problem getting back on defense when Embiid is on the floor. The Lakers are far from one of the league’s elite transition teams, ranking only 22nd in pace. Still, against Philly, there were several sequences of poor transition defense in which Embiid was directly involved.
One example was a rare fast break immediately after a made basket, which ended in an easy layup for DeAndre Ayton. The Lakers center beat Embiid in the race to the other end of the floor. In another clip, LeBron James just took off with the ball while Embiid was next to him and finished with an easy bucket. At 31, Embiid looked a lot older than the 41-year-old Lebron.
In the halfcourt, it is safe to assume the memo about Embiid’s clear struggles covering pick-and-roll has already made its way around the league. We just recently raved about the Phoenix Suns’ pick-and-roll coverage against Luka Doncic. The Suns played Ice and Weak, steering Doncic toward Mark Williams in drop coverage, with Williams active and mobile. Embiid also defended pick-and-roll in drop coverage, but that is where the similarities ended. He did not really bother Doncic in ball screens and lost his own man, Ayton, when Doncic tossed him an alley-oop pass.
Watch: Embiid's transition defense and set defense struggle:
On another possession, Embiid was in a flood position on Luka, overloading the help side, and again Doncic floated the ball easily over his head for another Ayton alley-oop. Later, when LeBron got the ball as the screener in pick-and-roll, attacked the rim and drove, Embiid was once again left stuck in the middle of the lane, and LeBron found Ayton for yet another alley-oop. Ayton finished 7-for-7 from the field, mainly because of Embiid’s inability to make timely defensive reads. In the second quarter, against Jaxson Hayes, Embiid was once again in a flood position, and again the ball went to Hayes for a relatively easy basket, with Embiid reacting late.
It is tough to hide your center on defense. He is supposed to be your defensive anchor, together with the guard at the point of attack. It becomes even harder when you look at the numbers: the Sixers rank only 15th in defensive rating, at 113.5, with Embiid having played just nine games and Paul George only eight. Even without the Embiid issue, the Sixers often get confused in their rotations and coverages, and yes, in their transition defense as well. You need almost flawless team defense to survive Embiid’s current limitations, and the Sixers are nowhere near that.
On the other hand, if Joel Embiid is now both a defensive liability and an offensive one, maybe it’s time for the Sixers to move on from him?