Philadelphia 76ers: The dramatic effect of Joel Embiid

The crown jewel of the emerging Philadelphia 76ers, Joel Embiid’s direct influence against the stars of the league has been profound.

Considering he had just 29 minutes worth of preparation to commence the season, Joel Embiid‘s impact thus far for the Philadelphia 76ers has been incredible.

After finishing his debut season on Jan. 27 due to a season-ending knee injury that later required surgery, Embiid and the Sixers undertook an extensive and meticulous rehabilitation process in the ensuing months. As a result, Embiid entered this season relatively underdone, and placed on a minutes restriction to commence the year as a precaution.

But despite these restrictions, the progress Embiid has made in such a short span of time has been remarkable. The most encouraging aspect of his recent 32-point, 16-rebound performance against the Los Angeles Clippers was the fact Embiid played a career-high 36 minutes.

As he stated following the game when speaking with Molly Sullivan of NBC Sports Philadelphia:

"“I feel like I’ve been playing up to 50 percent of my potential, and I think I can get much better…..it’s coming back, I feel like today was great step in getting back to the form of last year.”"

That form last year he’s referring to was during January, when Embiid led the Sixers to a 10-5 record for the month, which was off the back of the team winning just 10 games for the entire 2015-16 season.

Through his first 11 games, Embiid is averaging 20.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 steals in 28.5 minutes per game. And while his offensive numbers are clearly dominant despite the limited preparation and overall playing time, it’s Embiid’s impact at the defensive end that clearly sets him apart.

Thus far, Embiid has posted a defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) of 96.7, which is ranked second behind Al Horford among all centers averaging at least 28.0 minutes per game. Overall, the Sixers have been 13.4 points per 100 possessions better off defensively when Embiid is on the floor. In other words, when Embiid is on the floor, the Sixers’ defense is elite. When he’s resting, it’s among the worst in the league.

With that in mind, it would be interesting to note just how much direct impact Embiid has had this season when facing the elite stars in the league.