Joel Embiid focused on reading double teams to unlock the 76ers offense at the end of the game

Given that the Philadelphia 76ers have not been able to get out of the second round of the playoffs in the past two seasons, the team’s offensive fights in midfield – and questions about who would have had the ball in the game’s death moments – have been ahead and center.

At the center of that debate was the All-Star center Joel Embiid, the NBA’s most dominant post top scorer – which is generally difficult for teams to use in end-of-game situations. So as the Sixers were preparing to resume the NBA season, Sixers coach Brett Brown said the team focused specifically on Embiid’s ability to read the double teams in the post, thinking he will be one of the keys to unlocking the offense and allowing the Sixers to advance deep into the postseason.

“He’s going to be doing a double team more than he was,” said Brown after Thursday’s practice. “You can book it – he runs the baseline, the whole gym is coming, I don’t care who we are playing.

“What’s going on [on his post-ups] in the playoffs, it is because they face him more repeatedly in a series of seven games. It’s that heightened awareness for an All-Star of the first NBA team. And, so I think this field, one of the things I have done is damn close every time I catch it, we are coming [with a double-team]. … did a really good job of passing it. And therefore, whether they get close to him, whether he will be able to design a quarterback mentality from that post-up or who is going to play bully and become overwhelming and score, I think we are moving towards the readings that are coming “.

Embiid is one of the few dominant post players in a league that has become increasingly dependent on perimeter shooting. He recorded the fifth highest post-up in the NBA this season (429) at the second tracking data spectrum, had the second most direct point they created (397) and the fourth best post-up score (1,099).

Things were different, however, in the playoffs. In the past two post-reasons, Embiid has seen his numbers drop to just 0.907 points per post-up, the 13th among the 18 players who have had at least 50 post-ups in that time frame.

Some of these can be attributed to Philadelphia’s lack of space, and some, as Brown said, can be attributed to the defenses that build up on Embiid inside. While Embiid claimed to have improved in his transition, he said there are other ways Philadelphia can engage him in the offense to avoid trying to rely on him by creating strokes in the paint.

“If the teams double my every possession when I’m on the pitch, I shouldn’t just take it from the spot,” he said. “There are many ways to get involved in the offense. I can attack from the 3-point line, push in transition; the coaches can play a game to make me a shot in which I don’t really have to fight for it, so that’s fine.

“Okay, we’re doing it and we’re getting used to it [double-teams] because every single possession will happen in the playoffs. So I have to be ready. I feel like I have improved, and it’s all based on patience and I have it or not. If not, pass it back and trust my teammates to make those shots. And if I have the opportunity, take it. “

Brown also said he wants Embiid to roll a “minimum” of 10 free spins per game in the playoffs. Embiid has averaged over 10 free spins per game in the regular season last year, but that number has dropped to 8.7 attempts per game this season – still the sixth most in the NBA.

Over the past two years, Embiid has shot 7.6 and 8.2 free throws per game in the playoffs, but says that the goal of the 10 per game that Brown has put there is realistic for him.

“This is already what I do,” said Embiid. “[My] The free throws have been somewhat down this year, but when you watch last year, or the last two years, I go there about 10 times per game. This really is my game. Just be physical and score or suffer a foul. Many people might see it as “It’s always trying to get dirty,” but it is.

“I guess I’m a pretty good free-throw shooter, so I’d take it every day. It’s about my being aggressive, and as I said through double teams, if there are double teams or not, just be aggressive or get to the line. This has always been an emphasis when it came to my game, and I’m going to continue. “

The Sixers came out and traded with Jimmy Butler last season to try to solve their problem of who would have been their late game engine in attack – only to then switch to Butler in a sign-and-swap after the season that brought Josh Richardson to Philadelphia in his place. With Butler gone, the pressure on Embiid will be more than ever to deliver late buckets in the games.

In addition to his work on the transition of the double teams, Embiid said that the other thing he worked on during the break from the suspension of the season on March 11 was his trendy sweater – and he is very happy with his progress.

“My fashions are fantastic,” he said with a smile. “I’ve been working on it for the past 2 and a half months, six times a week, just trying to perfect my game in every possible way, and I’ve been happy with it. It’s something I’ll need a lot, especially when the other teams double me for every single possession. I can’t let that dictate my way of playing.

“So sometimes you have to make the right play, and sometimes you pass it, and if I have the feeling that I have the opportunity to be myself and dominate, then it’s a shot I’m going to get. So that’s what I was excited for . “