Philadelphia 76ers will go as far in the playoffs as Joel Embiid carries them

The Sixers will go as far in the playoffs as Joel Embiid carries them

PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 24: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers gestures after scoring a three-point basket for his career high 49th point during the second half of an NBA basketball game against of the Atlanta Hawks at Wells Fargo Center on February 24, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Sixers defeated the Hawks 129-112. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

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Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /

Counting stats are misleading

His counting stats don’t reflect his impact on the defensive end. He’s averaging a career-low in blocks at just 1.3 per game. He’s just 21st in Real Plus/Minus, 71st in DRPM (seriously) and 19th among centers in DRPM. In that final category, he’s behind players like Trey Lyles, Gorgui Dieng and Bismack Biyombo, among many others.

Raw numbers are great and in many ways are building blocks of what tells us which players are good and bad (and what those players are good at and bad at), but sometimes you need to peel back the page and look a bit deeper at what’s happening on the court.

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In Embiid’s case, the drop in blocks is easily attributed to the fact that teams shy away from challenging him at the rim. Deterrence is the most important thing on defense, as we mentioned, but with deterrence comes diminished opportunities to get numbers. After all, if nobody will shoot around you, how can you block their shots?

It’s a good thing, but it’s a problem too.

The Sixers have the potential to be one of the best defenses in the NBA when they turn up the intensity (so any time they’re not on the road), and Embiid is the biggest part of that devastating defense.