When it comes to shooting struggles, the Philadelphia 76ers‘ center Joel Embiid isn’t trying to mask it.
After another struggle-filled night from the field on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Embiid was incredibly honest with reporters regarding his shooting.
The star big man suggests that his lack of efficiency is due to mechanical issues. Considering the wear and tear on his lower body over the past few seasons, Embiid is still adjusting to the state of his body after multiple knee surgeries.
76ers’ Joel Embiid Doesn’t Hold Back Thoughts On Struggles vs Cavaliers
“The way I jump, the way I land when I take a jumper–we’re going to look at the film and just keep working at it,” Embiid told reporters.
“The way I’m jumping and my hands are just–it’s not what it used to be, so I just got to go back and look at the clips and see what we can change and got to just try to get better. That’s all we can do.”
While Embiid is working on being more available for the 76ers this season, the team still has him on a pretty strict management plan. Fewer games played and fewer practice reps possibly contribute to a lack of efficiency when he gets on the court.
“I would say probably the difference between the last couple years compared to the past is probably I used to be able to be in the gym every single day and just get the reps in and just working on it,” Embiid said. “That’s why it was so automatic, and now, like, we’ve got to find a way to kind of mix it up. … It’s an adjustment. You just got to keep working on it and hope it gets better.”
Joel Embiid This Season
In 25 minutes of action on Friday night in Cleveland, Embiid scored six points, but each one came from the free-throw line.
With nine attempts from the field, Embiid missed every shot. He chucked up two three-pointers, and none of them landed successfully, continuing a disappointing season-long trend.
This year, Embiid has appeared in eight out of 10 games for the Sixers. He is shooting 38.1% from the field and has made just three of 28 shots from three.
If Embiid were to keep this pace, it would be his career-worst by a notable margin at 6%. The good news is that there is plenty of time for him to turn it around, but clearly, the issues are deeper than shots just not falling. The star center needs to adjust and improve his mechanics.
