Head coach Brett Brown explained during a recent interview that the 76ers’ decision to put Joel Embiid (foot) back in his walking boot was more of a precautionary move than anything else.
Advice: "It is a minor thing. It's so precautionary," said Brown. "When [Joel] said 'I feel a little soreness', our first reaction is to go back to square one and go back to the boot. When you speak to doctors and people that do this all the time, they say it's quite normal. It's part of the recovery of an injury that you will experience some soreness from time to time."
Joel Embiid is going to be a phenom. According to everything I've ever read about the kid, he was by far considered the best prospect in this draft and is likely better than any prospect in the 2015 Draft. I know people freak out and assume he's following the path of Sam Bowie and Greg Oden, but I'm assuming he's going to get healthy. Between him, Noel, Saric and whoever they end up with in the top 5 this year, that team (on paper) is set up to be ridiculous long-term.
And sure... people will point out how shallow "on paper" is, but... is it?
Yeah, it is. Embiid, according to the wiki, moved to the U.S. to play basketball at 16. That means college scouts and coaches got a decent look at him and while he was a 5 star recruit, he was VASTLY overshadowed by Wiggins when they both started at Kansas. So basically, all of the Embiid hype is based on how he looked in the rather limited sample size of part of one college season.
Now, what we saw looked good but between "bust" and "top 10 center all time" there are about a thousand different levels where Embiid could plateau. Let's say Embiid becomes as good as Alonzo Mourning. That would make him one heck of a player, but someone worth throwing away two entire seasons?
Mike
The Embiid hype is based on how rapidly he improved during his one season, his two-way ability, his incredible low-post potential, his shooting ability, quickness, agility, touch around the rim, his length, his size, his rebounding and defense, his athleticism. He blew away pre-draft scouts to the point that several felt he should have gone 1st in spite of his injury. The idea that he was "VASTLY OVERSHADOWED" by Wiggins is just straight-up untrue. If anything, Embiid became the story of Kansas as the season progressed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ZvUuag32OZE#t=27His pre-draft workout gives an idea of what tools excited people (though he was being half-hearted defended by Scal or nothing)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp7PX7hYUFQ Considering the talent in the 2014 draft, it's saying something that Embiid was considered "by far" the best prospect of the bunch. People were legitimately comparing him to young Hakeem. It seems outlandish, but it's not hard to see the skills they are referring to. If he gets healthy, he should be a lock to be a 20/10 guy.
Fwiw, his freshman stats were comparable to every great big man you can think of. Shaq, Akeem, Duncan, Ewing, etc. Look at Anthony Davis, for instance. Davis averaged 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.7 blocks, 1.4 steals with 62% shooting in 32mpg. Project it over 40mpg and you have 17.7 points, 13 rebounds, 5.8 blocks, 1.7 steals. Compare that to Embiid. 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 0.9 steals, 2.6 blocks with 62% shooting in 23.1mpg. Project over 40mpg and you have 19.4 points, 14 rebounds, 4.5 blocks, 1.5 steals.
Kid looks legit.
https://vine.co/v/OEKxv2pHlmj