Joel Embiid has talked a lot this season about authenticity, the idea of wrestling with how to be himself and have fun on the floor.
On The Old Man & The Three Podcast with JJ Redick and Tommy Alter, Embiid provided more honest insight into those issues.
I will not lie, in the season I was not myself, “he said.” I was not there. I was just not comfortable. The injury was not the same, basketball was not the same for me. The way last summer happened , it was just so frustrating that I was so crazy about the whole world and I was just like, ‘Eh, whatever. I’m just coming to work and I’ll do my best,’ but I did not play to my standards.
‘And it was hard. It was a big change, but you adapt. Every year will be different, and this year was different. But I still believe. We have a great opportunity to make it happen. We can win the whole thing.
Embiid, who played the game of Sunday night vs. the Blazers left in the first quarter with an injury to the left ankle, missing his creative, unpredictable two-man game with Redick. Overall, he found things easier in a mishap with Redick and Jimmy Butler. Offseason acquisitions Al Horford and Josh Richardson have not complemented him either. The team is 17th in offensive rating this year after finishing eighth last season.
“Defensively, like you said, we’re pretty good,” Embiid said. “We are big … we can change a lot. But offensively, it just wasn’t there. We had our misdemeanor, but sometimes it was not the right crime. The abuse we’ve been using for the past four or five years has not been the trigger for this team. It was completely different.
“You do not have JJ Redick, you do not have Jimmy Butler who will do the pick-and-rolls. But I think we will get it. I think the last month we spent in the bubble helped us a lot. I think we’re getting closer. “
The three-time All-Star also delved into the dynamics between himself and Sixers fans, who in particular recorded a shushing gesture during a February 9 game against the Bulls, and discussed why he not so much against the club played this season.
“I did not do that much this year because a lot happened,” he said. ‘From last summer to this season, by not being myself, not dominating like I normally do – there was just no passion. I just played without it. I think I’m used to it. And then, finally, when I decided to react because they were harassing me, I shook them and they went crazy.
‘That was a game-changer. I have a lot of love for the fans in Philly. That’s just passion. They understand me; our relationship is different. I love them, they love me, they understand me. They know what I’m over, I know what they’re over, I know what they want. They just want to win. They just want a winner and they just want a championship. You just have to play hard and push yourself, always give it 100 percent. “
Of course, it’s not sure when Embiid will play next for non-virtual fans. When Redick rekindled the idea of a “bubble” to be necessary to play the 2020-21 season during the coronavirus pandemic, Embiid was not enthusiastic.
“There’s no chance,” he said. ‘I do not think it happens. You have to find a way. Hopefully, then it will be better, we will find some more solutions to what is happening right now. To expect eight months in the bubble is unlikely. I do not know if I can do it. There is no chance. ”
On a lighter note, Redick had an amusing story about his visit to the Sixers’ practice facility in Camden, New Jersey, when the team found itself in free agency. His future head coach thought more about Xs and Os than putting Redick pen on paper.
“I’m coming to the facility at 12:01 pm – this is July 1, 2017,” he said. “I arrive at the facility at 12:01 and get a tour of the facility. I see the offices, I see the locker room, I see the weight room. And as we walk from the weight room through the courtroom, back to Bryan Colangelo’s office, Brett (Brown) stops us and he starts running two-man game with me and Jo. And we’re in streetwear – I’m wearing a blazer and we do DHOs. ”
The former teammates also talk about the natural evolution of their two-man game, Embiid’s emotions after Kawhi Leonard’s Game 7 buzzer beater last year and much more. You can listen to the full podcast below.
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