Joel Embiid's astonishing level of play made every Sixers fan's 2022 season of giving greater. 35.4 points, 10 boards per game, a fifty-piece and a Madison Square Garden crowd stunned on Christmas day, the superstar deserved every bit of that Eastern Conference player of the month award. For the third year in a row, our beloved franchise player is having an MVP-worthy season, but besides his phenomenal domination, what should we remember from Embiid's best month ever?
1. The Harden and Embiid tandem is on a upward trend
Before the last month of 2022, The Harden-Embiid duo already had impressive numbers despite having yet to show more than glimpses of what they could accomplish on the court together. In the 12 games they shared since, a clear growth in terms of dynamic and chemistry seems to have occurred. The dynamic duo is handling its power-plays better and better each game and on the month of December, Harden assisted his center for 121 points. It's no coincidence that Embiid is having a career-best season at the rim or that Harden is nearing his best passing years' numbers.
The conjunction of one's dominance and one's return to form has led to entire games, not flashes, where the duo looked disgustingly good.
Harden assisted Embiid 11(!!) times that game, en-route to a 21 assists career high.
2. Late-game's lapses
The next step for them is to handle late-game situations better. Too many times have they forgotten the balance that makes their offense successful, instead they rely on simply giving the ball to Embiid in the post or at the elbow, while the otherwise-perfect offensive orchestrator Harden takes a backseat. Unsurprisingly, the squad hasn't found any success doing so and it has already cost them winnable games. The coaching staff is undoubtedly capable of fixing this issue, Embiid and Harden are so good that you don't need to run any truly sophisticated play.
This is a set they run often, and it's virtually unstoppable with shooters around them.
3. Turnovers problems
Linked to those clutch-time issues is Embiid tendency to commit turnovers. This year might be Joel's best season passing-wise: he averages a career-high in assists per game, he seems to make sharper reads and he occasionally hits some mind-boggling passes, especially in transition. Yet, all those positive signs seem to be nullified by some careless passes or out-of-control moves that that are even deadlier considering the team's struggles to get back on defense. Embiid still creates a tons of good looks for his teammates, but straightening those awareness issues that have been entangling him his entire career is the last challenge in front of him, and probably the most important one for the Sixers' future success.
4. Let them rest
Embiid played 36.1 minutes per game in December and Harden is on the court 38 minutes per game at 33 years old. The regular season is all about putting yourself in the best position to succeed in the post-season, that includes being physically ready. We know how though the East's seeding battle is this year, but considering the franchise's two best players' health-related problems in the past playoffs, Doc Rivers and his staff should really look to find a way to reduce their workloads. The upcoming six-game stretch against below .500 opponents and the team's depth should help.
Embiid is cementing himself as a top five player more and more every game. His connection with Harden is getting hardly stoppable and draws a clear path to the promised land, but their late-game execution and Embiid's playmaking woes will have to be addressed before we can think of furthering our hopes and expectations.
Wishing a happy new year to the best fanbase in the world, GO SIXERS!
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