Post by jhb on May 18, 2021 10:07:31 GMT -5
Joel Embiid
C
7'0"
250
20
Kansas
I'm not entirely sure that if you built a TMBSL center in a lab you could come up with something physically better than Joel Embiid. Measuring in at 7' and weighing 250 lbs with a 7'5" wingspan, Embiid is the perfect balance of size, quickness, strength, and athleticism. He's agile and mobile and has very graceful footwork. He put up fantastic per minute numbers at Kansas and was extremely productive when he could stay on the floor (he did have some issues with foul trouble). There are some questions about durability which put into question his longevity, but in terms of ability, there may not be a player in this class with a floor as high as Embiid who has more upside.
Offensively, Embiid is a finisher in the paint. One advanced analysis service reported that he made over 75% of his attempts at the rim. He's vertically explosive, elevates well, and has the grace to make opposing bigs look foolish attempting to challenge his attempts at the rim. He finished put-back opportunities with ease around college-level bigs. He's already shown a fairly advanced arsenal of post moves for a first-year college player, including a drop-step to either side, a sky hook, turnaround jumper, and a fairly advanced post move scouts have taken to calling the "Embiid Shake" where he collects the ball and fakes a move over his right shoulder before quickly changing direction and attacking with a turnaround look over his left shoulder. They say they've never seen anything quite like that before. He uses his strength to draw a ton of contact, picking up almost 9 fouls from opponents every 40 minutes. He handles the ball very well for a big man and can initiate offense from the top of the key if needed. He's got a smooth shooting stroke and was absolutely deadly from mid-range, which means defenders can't really eliminate anything. He even extended his range out to the three point line several times and while he wasn't effective as a threat from there, he's certainly got the potential to become a threat at the next level if a team wants him to focus on doing that.
Embiid is an active and aggressive player on the other end of the court. He covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time and would pop up to surprise opponents attacking the rim with pretty regular rejections, sending back 4.5 shots per 40 minutes at Kansas. Scouts say that impressive number doesn't even tell the full story as he impacted a number of shots that didn't show up in the score sheet. He has the athleticism to stay in front of anyone and can switch pick and rolls with the best of them. Considering his prototype size and athleticism he shouldn't have an issue cleaning the defensive glass and showed good promise in his one season in Lawrence in that regard. The only big question mark on this end is that he had a major issue with staying on the floor due to some lapses of focus that caused him to commit some silly fouls or track the ball and lose his man in space or lose positioning boxing out and letting someone get by his seal for a second chance opportunity. That should be easy to clean up with proper coaching.
The biggest question for Embiid will simply be durability. Will the injuries hamper his ability to stay on the floor and maximize his potential or will he get healthy and become one of the great centers of TMBSL?
