Joel Embiid shared logical explanation for his unfair ‘playoff dropper' label
A common conversation among hoops fans about the Philadelphia 76ers center often revolves around his playoff performances.
On the one hand, Embiid has enjoyed robust career playoff averages of nearly 25 points per game, roughly 11 rebounds, and nearly two blocks a game. That is terrific. That is, more or less, exactly what you would want from your franchise player in the biggest games of the year. On the other hand, his average playoff shooting splits of 50-28-82 and a true shooting percentage of just 58 percent might leave something to be desired for a player considered a perennial MVP-caliber talent when he's healthy.
Factor in the occasional high-profile egg, like a 5-of-18 shooting performance with just 15 points in a Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics in 2023, and it's not hard to see why some might criticize the Philadelphia big man for hanging his team out to dry in the postseason.
But as Embiid explained in a new profile from ESPN's Dotun Akintoye, those who lean into the "narrative" about him being a playoff dropper are missing context. They seem to think he's the only star player capable of a rough night now and then when an elite defense is specifically game-planning for them:
"What if I [Embiid] did this and I was like, 'You know what? I'm just going to chill all season and coast and average 25 [points]? Or 20.' And in the playoffs, I go average 30. Would that make me look great? Probably. If I went from averaging 23 to 30 -- a playoff riser. Oh, my God. Joel Jordan. Whatever.
"The Brooklyn series two years ago is a perfect example. Double me everywhere. Half court, as soon as I had the ball, that coach was like, 'Go get it.' And guess what? I was fine with it because we kicked the ball out, we made shots, and we won. But guess what it did? It lowered the stats.
"So, if that's the narrative that's out there, I'm OK with that because I know what I'm going through and I know what's going on. And no one is in my body to understand what I'm going through."
That's such a logical explanation.
Naturally, given Embiid's scoring prowess, opposing playoff teams are going to focus more of their attention on him like they would with any other star of his caliber. The sorts of regular-season defenses Embiid faces are also a lot easier to thrive against than smarter teams with better defensive talent, the same way it would be with any other star. That means the right play often means taking the ball out of his hands and trusting his 76ers teammates to make shots. Of course, this dynamic hasn't really worked out for Philadelphia, since it has yet to play in an Eastern Conference Finals during his career, but that doesn't mean it isn't correct.
For someone like Embiid to have more of a "playoff riser" narrative, he would actually probably have to perform worse in the regular season, which doesn't make sense given how much the 76ers rely on him.
So, the next time anyone tries to blast Embiid for failing the 76ers in the second season, remember this context. Some of the criticism will still be fair if he performs poorly in one-off playoff games. He is not above accountability. But let's not pretend that he isn't the only workhorse star that this happens to.
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