Posts Tagged ‘Joel Embiid’

NBA: Players to Watch in 2016-2017

Monday, October 31st, 2016

by Josh Fletcher

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With the NBA season now officially underway, it is time to start looking for the most interesting players to watch this season. Of course, everyone is excited to see how Durant meshes into Golden State’s squad or how LeBron James will perform in defense of Cleveland’s first title. However, it is even more interesting to keep your eyes on the lesser-known players who are due to breakout this year. Here is a look at some of the most interesting players to track this season in the NBA.

 

Clint Capela

Dwight Howard is gone in Houston, and that means that it is Capela’s show now on defense. He has the unenviable task of trying to be the biggest eraser in the league behind Houston’s porous defense. With the up-tempo nature of new coach Mike D’Antoni’s style, Capela will need to play up to his enormous skill level on defense to keep opponents’ scoring down. On offense, Capela will be a perfect pick-and-roll partner for Harden and should score in bunches in his third season in the league.

 

Doug McDermott

Another third-year player who might have a breakout season this year is McDermott. He had a terrible, injury-plagued rookie season where he only shot 31.7 percent from three-point range. Last year, he stepped it up with a 42.5 percent three-point percentage, and he also averaged 9.4 points in 23 minutes per game.

 

Jabari Parker

When Parker came out of Duke two years ago, everyone figured the second overall pick would start right away. Fate cruelly blew out his ACL early in his rookie season, and his development ground to a halt. Coming back from injury last season, Parker averaged 14.1 points per game. He only shot 35 threes all last season, and he only made nine of those. The word is that he has been working on his outside shooting with a passion during the offseason, and adding a three-point stroke to his game this year could turn him into the superstar everyone expected.

 

D’Angelo Russell

Russell had a good rookie season last year under difficult circumstances. Now that Kobe Bryant is finally gone, the Lakers are Russell’s team. Lakers fans accustomed to excellence could be ready to see it finally return now that Bryant is retired. Russell is the kind of electric young talent with a passion for the game that could bring back the excitement of the Showtime era to Los Angeles. In his first game of the season, Russell went four of ten from behind the arc to lead the Lakers to a 120-114 victory over the Rockets. It should be an exciting year to watch Russell lead a storied franchise back to relevance.

 

Joel Embiid

Embiid was selected third overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2014 draft, and everyone thought he was going to make an instant impact on the league. Well, he did make an instant impact in his first game, scoring 20 points in his debut. Unfortunately, that debut just happened in the 76ers opening game of this season. After two surgeries and a long wait, Embiid could become one of the premier big men in the league if he can just stay healthy.

 

Josh Fletcher, for War Room Sports

Why Kansas center Joel Embiid could end up being the best player out of the 2014 NBA Draft

Friday, December 13th, 2013

by Christian Roberts

Christian Roberts Blog

 

 

 

 

 

Joel Embiid

 

With all the hype surrounding Duke’s Jabari Parker, Kentucky’s Julius Randle, and teammate Andrew Wiggins (rightfully so – all three will be great), a new-comer to the sport of basketball, Joel Embiid, may end up surpassing all three of them at the next level.

The special skill-set embodied by Embiid, is what has NBA scouts drooling. Also the fact that he’s only been playing this game for a few years and he is already this good. He’s basically dominating while learning on the job. His defensive prowess is unmatched. Offensively, he one of the most efficient and effective big men in college basketball. Once he gets a better awareness and feel for the game, which will come along as he plays, he will be unstoppable.

Showing an array of post moves some big men in the NBA don’t even have, you can see why some scouts are putting him in the conversation for the #1 overall pick in the 2014 draft. One NBA exec is even quoted as saying, “If he’s not the first overall pick, he’s definitely the second”. That’s high praise for a young man who is just now getting his feet wet.

While only playing 20 minutes per game, the 7-foot/250 pound center makes his presence known every game. Teammate and fellow freshman Andrew Wiggins, plays 10 minutes more per game than Embiid, but you could argue, the center’s impact is much bigger. The only real downside to his game is his rawness to the game and he is prone to foul trouble. The game that’s being played in the NBA now-a-days, with all the flopping, could pose a problem for Embiid and his physical presence. As long as he continues to get “coached up” and plays under control, he should be just fine.

A center with this kind of unlimited upside, both offensively and defensively, doesn’t come around too often. You can see why he’s receiving the praise he has received thus far.

The NBA will have to wait for now though, as the future lottery pick will play a key component in the Kansas Jayhawks’ quest for a National Title this year. But when that time does indeed come, don’t be surprised if Joel Embiid is the first name you hear called off the board in next year’s draft.

 

Christian Roberts of Sportz Overtime, for War Room Sports