Joel Embiid bears a burden that not many superstars of his caliber do for long. The Sixers’ big man has been MVP-caliber for many seasons now, but he still doesn’t have the playoff success to show for his greatness. Embiid has never even been to the Eastern Conference Finals despite having had some good teams around him during his career.
Joel Embiid gets disrespected quite a bit by people, but some of the criticism is not invalid. The big man needs to win when it matters. Playoff performances matter a lot in the NBA. And with James Harden by his side and a deep roster, there are very few excuses left this season. To be fair to Embiid, he has been let down by teammates, co-stars, and coaches in the past, but that only goes so far. Even he acknowledged that there is one aspect of his game that needs to change (via ClutchPoints).
“I can shoot over double teams and I can make some of those shots,” he said. “But I’ve come to find out that you can’t win alone. You need to trust your teammates even when they’re missing. You need to keep making the right plays, making the right reads. That’s how you play basketball. You’re not gonna win by being selfish and taking all the shots and shooting over double teams and triple teams.”
This is something all the greats have had to learn. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and everyone had to learn to trust their teammates. Joel Embiid has some serious ballers on his team as well, and he is planning on continuing to trust them.
Joel Embiid Says He Should Have 10 Assists Every Game
If Joel Embiid can start playmaking at an elite level, there will be no stopping him from getting that MVP over Nikola Jokic. And he thinks he has it in him to average 10 assists if his teammates can hit shots.
“Like I always say, you can’t win one-on-five,” Embiid said. “I joked around with them after the game that…based on the last night, I should have probably have at least 10 assists each game. But, you gotta keep trusting them, especially with the way teams double me…You just got to keep trusting ’em. And I feel like I’d be making the right plays over and over. It’s gonna pay off at some point.”
The things he’s saying are a promising sign, but the time for talk is over in Philadelphia. Joel Embiid will need to make sure his team gets over the hump and makes it deep into the playoffs this season. It will be hard going against great Bucks and Celtics teams, but it’s simply something that he and his side will have to figure out.
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