Philadelphia 76ers: The dramatic effect of Joel Embiid

John Wall, Washington Wizards

The scene was the opening night of the season, and as mentioned earlier, Embiid was entering the year on a minutes restriction and a limited preparation. On the night, Embiid posted 18 points and 13 rebounds as the Sixers came up short, losing to the Wizards 120-115.

But it was the difference he made to combat the Wizards’ All-Star point guard, John Wall, that was a major factor in the Sixers nearly pulling away for the road win. When Embiid was on the floor, Wall had an offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) of 105.5. However, when Embiid was resting, this number exploded to 132.1.

A further breakdown of the numbers shows just how effective Embiid was in thwarting Wall’s presence on the court.

• Embiid on court:  3-of-11 from the field, nine points
• Embiid off court:  7-of-17 from the field, 19 points.

The following clips can further highlight the difference in Wall’s approach as to whether or not Embiid is on the floor.

Here are some clips of Embiid off the floor:

As can be seen, there’s no hesitation with Wall and taking it to the basket while Embiid’s backup, Amir Johnson, is protecting the rim.

Contrast that with the following highlights, in which Wall either gets stuffed at the rim, settles for jumpers, or throws a lazy pass simply due to the presence of Embiid:

Therefore, it can be stated that both the numbers and the visuals reinforce the notion that Wall felt a lot more comfortable this game while Embiid was resting.