Could Joel Embiid Adapt to a Faster, Small-Ball League if Necessary?
The paradigm shift that the NBA is experiencing now seems to be favoring a smaller, faster style of play. At the same time, the big man is not dead. Ish Smith, who has been coasting between the NBA and the minor leagues, says that the twin towers might be in for a comeback. Should today’s big men, like Joel Embiid, play for adaptation?
The Shift to Small-Ball: A New Era in the NBA
Small-ball isn’t some novel concept that’s just been invented. But its embrace by so many teams in the NBA seems to be a trend that’s risen sharply over the past few years.
The main proponents of it have been teams like the Golden State Warriors, who favor using lineups in which the tallest player might be 6’8”, for instance. And if they do have some kind of height advantage, it’s usually balanced out almost immediately by pace (the aforementioned teams play pretty fast) and conditions that let their opponents work up shots.
It’s one thing not to have a center; it’s another thing altogether to consistently win that way.
This method has shown it can deliver results. For example, the Warriors ended up with a 73-9 record in the 2015-2016 season, and largely, it was due to their small-ball tactics. Plus, shooting efficiency seems to have improved across the league, with attempts at the three-pointer going through the roof. In the 2019-2020 season, NBA teams averaged about 34 shots from beyond the arc per game, up from just 19 in the 2010-2011 season.
As a result, the conventional centers must reckon with this ever-changing world. They must not only hold their own in the lane but also demonstrate the capacity to guard the guys on the court’s edge. This brings us to a vital question: How would a giant like Joel Embiid fare with all this?
Joel Embiid: A Powerhouse in the Paint
Standing tall at 7’0″ and weighing around 280 pounds, Joel Embiid possesses a physical presence that commands attention. But it is not just his size that makes him impressive; his skill set is actually what deserves acclaim. The 2021-2022 season saw him average 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game, which means, for any doubters, that he is more than capable of being utilized in multiple ways to wreak havoc on offenses.
Another aspect of Embiid’s game that makes him a threat is his ability to score from afar. He doesn’t just shoot efficiently from good spots; he’s shown that he can shoot from all over the court. Last season, for instance, he took just over 10 percent of his shots from 3-point range. He made 37.7 percent of those attempts.
In addition, Embiid’s defensive skill set is equally vital. He averaged 1.5 blocks per game in the 2021-2022 season, making him one of the top rim protectors in the league. Even if the 76ers shifted to a small-ball type of game, this aspect of his game would likely be just as important as it is now.
Could Joel Embiid Adapt to a Faster, Small-Ball League if Necessary?
The fundamental question can be answered only by looking at the particular skill set Embiid possesses. He is, quite simply, too agile for his size. That enables him to not just keep up with guards and other small players but also to defend them effectively. It’s not enough to say that Embiid has improved his footwork and lateral movement; what he’s really doing is using those attributes to engage in a kind of defensive tango (or jujitsu) with the players he’s assigned to.
In addition, his post game doesn’t encompass all of his offense. Embiid stretches the floor, which is key to the driving lanes. When the Sixers run plays for him, they’re usually designed to take advantage of all that space. Whenever he’s in the game, he’s drawing attention both inside and outside of the three-point line.
Critically, his conditioning is often put under the microscope. Competing in a small-ball league would necessitate a continual pushing of stamina and adaptability to the limits. To thrive at a possibly even faster pace, in a league embracing that kind of play, might for some test the very endurance that is part and parcel of the Embiid conditioning narrative. In the 2021-2022 season, he played an average of 34.6 minutes per game.
Historical Context: Other Centers in Small-Ball Systems
Looking at historical precedents can provide more clarity. Centers like Nikola Jokić and Bam Adebayo have prospered in today’s fast-paced systems. These players offer a glimpse into the kind of versatility expected from a modern center. Jokić is a playmaker, of sorts, but Adebayo’s real virtue lies in his ability to excel in almost any situation (defensive, offensive, etc.) while switching between man and zone defense effectively.
When these centers encounter smaller lineups, they adapt. Jokić, for example, frequently exploits mismatches by using his elite passing and basketball intelligence. Adebayo is fantastic in defensive rotations and shows next-level agility, energy, and effort.
Should Embiid be able to develop the same set of skills, particularly when it comes to the disciplines of passing and defensive versatility, he could not only keep pace with the league in terms of the shift to a faster small-ball style but also effectively counter it.
The Business Implications of Adaptation
The NBA’s moves impact a variety of stakeholders—teams, sponsors, and fans. The better teams are at understanding NBA shifts and the quicker they are to adopt new styles, the more advantage they have over the competition. We don’t really think of it this way because the leagues are mostly static within their seasons, but the franchises that understand shifts the best are also the ones that do the best in Drafts and free agency.
Further, marketing strategies being directed at players might grow and mature. The kind of key figure that holds the court’s center, for instance, is still capable of drawing focus, and the manner in which he adapts to the not-so-rare slight center nowadays could make him even more desirable as a figure to draw focus to. This is especially so if he can pull off a kind of fast-paced platform that is worth scoring on, quite unlike some of those platforms in the not-too-distant-first half of the ’00s.
In the end, the adaptability of players such as Embiid reflects a larger trend in business strategy. Companies that stay nimble and react to the shifts in the marketplace are the ones that prosper. Spotting the up-and-coming trends and adjusting the sails to catch the movements of those trends can provide some pretty hefty blessings in terms of performance and profit.
Conclusion: Embracing Change in the NBA
The query, “Might Joel Embiid be able to adapt to a small-ball, fast-moving league?” involves much more than just the physical attributes of the Cameroonian center. It touches on the almost philosophical notion of whether players can even embrace the idea of change, much less the actual change itself. And it speaks to whether organizations and players alike can learn to be resilient and somewhat protean. Frankly, even under the best of circumstances, not all players can do this.
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