Better Player - Jaylen vs Embiid

[Who]

I think it is hard to put a value on Embiid these days because he misses so much time. For me, it is clearly Jaylen over Embiid accounting that.

However ...

When Embiid is healthy, who is better?

It is even tough to say what a healthy Embiid. He spends so much time out injured. Then he spends another chunk of time playing himself into shape. Then he has period where he is healthy-ish which appears to about as healthy as he can ever be at this point in his career. Is that Embiid better than Jaylen?

How good of a defender is that Embiid? He is not an All-NBA defender anymore. His defense is more uneven than ever. Perhaps similar to Jokic. Embiid is good when he can stay near the rim but gets in trouble when he has play defense out on the floor. He struggles to deal with the PnR or handle switches against ball-handlers.

His rebounding numbers have dropped. Only 8rpg in 31mpg. He used to be an 11-12 rebounds guy.

His scoring volume is still high. Almost 30pts per 36min over the last 2 years. His scoring efficiency has dropped off but is still strong. He was a 63.7% TS from 2020-21 to 2023-24 down to 59.7% the last two seasons. It was 56% TS in the playoffs this season and that was with dream matchups against inadequate defensive centers on BOS.

Is Jaylen the better player than this? I think he is.

[jambr380]

We were 2-1 against the Sixers before Embiid came back. He looked pretty bad in his return game and then the Sixers reeled off 3 in a row against a much higher seed to take us out. Embiid's ceiling is so much higher than Jaylen's that I have to give him the edge, even if he is for sure going to miss time. He can regularly dominate a game, Jaylen really can't

[Celtics2021]

We were 2-1 against the Sixers before Embiid came back. He looked pretty bad in his return game and then the Sixers reeled off 3 in a row against a much higher seed to take us out. Embiid's ceiling is so much higher than Jaylen's that I have to give him the edge, even if he is for sure going to miss time. He can regularly dominate a game, Jaylen really can't

Agreed.  Joel Embiid at his best is absolutely better.  He is at his best so infrequently that we forget that, but he is.

[LilRip]

Embiid and it is not particularly close imo. Embiid is a game changer and the impact he has during his average games are equivalent to Jaylen on some of his best games.

[ozgod]

At his best, even at the tail end of his career, Embiid is an MVP level player and someone who can singlehandedly change a game due to his ability to get buckets or get to the foul line. He's not as great a defender as he was but I think he still impacts winning a lot more.

[Who]

Embiid with / without last season:

With Embiid - 24 wins 14 losses = 52 win pace
Without Embiid - 21 wins 23 losses = 39 win pace

A 13 win difference with or without you last season.

[Who]

Joel Embiid in the playoffs this past season

vs Boston = 4gms 36.5mpg 28ppg 44.3% FG 9.3 FTA / 22.0 FGA 83.8% FT 53.7% TS 9.0rpg 0.8bpg 0.5spg 7.0apg vs 2.0 turnovers per game. Philly were -25 in his first game and +31 in final 3 games in Embiid's minutes.

vs New York = 3gms 29.3mpg 18.7ppg 50% FG 7.3 FTA / 12.0 FGA 81.8% FT 61.3% TS 5.0rpg 1.0bpg 0.0spg 3.3apg vs 2.3 turnovers per game. Philly were a -57 in Embiid's minutes.

[SparzWizard]

Come see me when Jaylen Brown has the following:

NBA MVP
All-NBA First Team
All-Defensive NBA Team accolade
Olympic Gold Medalist

Those are what Joel Embiid possesses. Embiid came back from injury and took Boston out after trailing the series 3-1. Embiid is by far the better player.

[Who]

Come see me when Jaylen Brown has the following:

NBA MVP
All-NBA First Team
All-Defensive NBA Team accolade
Olympic Gold Medalist

Those are what Joel Embiid possesses. Embiid came back from injury and took Boston out after trailing the series 3-1. Embiid is by far the better player.

Past accomplishments. He can't play at that level anymore.

He will never win another MVP, make another 1st Team All-NBA, or make an All-Defensive team.

[Who]

There is something about the current version of Joel Embiid that reminds me of someone like Trae Young.

Yeah, Embiid can show up and put up big numbers but it comes at a cost. Everything has to revolve around him. Others are put in less useful positions and contribute less.

And then his defense is highly exploitable come playoff time. He is a subpar transition defender, subpar PnR defender, subpar switch defender. He is not as active an interior help defender either. He can't cover as much ground. He is fine if it is a short rotation but if it is a medium to long rotation, he can't help & recover.