Joel Embiid Is A Game-Changing Infection
We all know those guys – the guys who you can’t stand on a bad team, but suddenly start playing harder when they play for a good team.
You’d think being compensated millions to play basketball would be motivation enough to do what it takes to win. Alas, there are enigmatic talents who general managers continue to shower with money, hoping the proverbial light flickers on.
The Philadelphia 76ers are brimming with young talent. And like any team overflowing with players so close to the legal drinking age, they need a presence to show them the way.
Yes, the Sixers signed veterans such as J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson. But few players capture the attention of their peers the way Joel Embiid does.
With rookies such as Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, and even Furkan Korkmaz, the Sixers need someone – a group, really – to champion the details of defense.
JoJo is that champion.
Coach Brett Brown glowed about the defensive potential of Ben Simmons, going as far as saying, “I feel like he has a chance to be an elite multi-purpose defensive player.”
As for Fultz, “His effort [defensively] was excellent. I think that his ability to pick things up and have a true desire to guard is there,” Brown said. And most importantly, Brown added that, “Joel will tell [Markelle] and help him when that doesn’t happen.”
As a truly-elite rim protector, Embiid will clean up many mistakes made in front of him. But he’ll also help to take those trash mistakes out to the curb – never to be seen again. After all, “[Joel is] the captain of our defense, and we’re in good hands,” Brown said.
Embiid’s defensive dominance and infectious personality make him the perfect advocate for the 76ers’ defensive identity. And for this team to get where The Process was intended to go, it will need its young players to become infected with that desire to get every stop – to communicate, to fight through every screen, to simultaneously keep tabs on their man and the ball.
It’s unfair to assume guys like Simmons and Fultz would continue to be disinterested on the defensive end. But with their track records, I’m sure glad we have a coach and star who won’t settle for anything other than championship-level defense.