Good analysis… a couple eye test thoughts to add to your data:
#1. Despite the gritty and clutch comeback last night, I came away with mixed thoughts on Joel… as you rightly point out, his gravity opens up so much for rest of team … yet his great moments are mixed with so many clumsy passes and clunky drives into the paint… VJ saved him on one, refs give him fouls that would otherwise be TOs… but this does not bode well for playoff success against even better teams (as last 8 seasons have demonstrated)
#2. I don’t have an answer but can see a not too distant future where JoJo is a 4th option behind Maxey, PG and VJ… and that team, also to your point, could be really fun to watch… and potentially be more successful in playoffs than we even expect..
I don't know that I totally agree on Joel ever being a 4th option or even a 3rd option for that matter. He's too ball-dominant when he's on the floor; he's always going to be involved. Most of the time that is a good thing, as he is still incredibly talented and skilled, and even with the iffy moments at times, he makes a positive impact as this article illustrates. It's going to take a lot for a coach to decide not to have him be the focal point of the offense when he is out there. But when that is not the case, I feel like that will probably just be the end of his career, as I don't find it likely he will push through all the injuries and pain if he's not the guy.
Oh, complete and utter meh. "I forsee a future where all of us are pushing up daisies!" So f in what?
Fact is, and the point of the article is that time isn't now. Fact is, Embiid as primary offensive threat/creator still exists. Fact is those people you are conjecturally putting ahead of him in the offensive pecking order are better with him than when he's injured.
So....yeah he's still figuring out how to best leverage his gravity, but if you think being "fun to watch" losing one series is all anyone could hope for, you are wrong.
I would actually love if you made some more "declarative proclamations." It's funny to me that data dudes so rarely make predictions, despite having the actual knowledge and skill to do so in an informed way. It's cool to learn the numerical representation of more space=everyone plays better, but it would be even cooler to see like... how much higher would the team's offensive rating get if Joel stays healthy for the rest of the season + Nick Nurse is smart enough to play Barlow with him + draw up/advise more weak-side/backdoor cuts. IDK if that makes sense because I'm not an analytics person but it's the type of stuff I would find super compelling.
Thanks for the comment! I feel like a lot of that falls under the bucket of the famous quote: "The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know". Most of the time, these articles stem from me thinking up a question I'm interested in and then trying to answer that question with data. Sometimes that answer leads me to more "declarative proclamations," such as with the "Don't fall for it" article I wrote. Sometimes it's just more an interesting tidbit about the Sixers that could add a different lens to the viewing experience of the team, which is probably more the bucket that this one falls into.
Good analysis… a couple eye test thoughts to add to your data:
#1. Despite the gritty and clutch comeback last night, I came away with mixed thoughts on Joel… as you rightly point out, his gravity opens up so much for rest of team … yet his great moments are mixed with so many clumsy passes and clunky drives into the paint… VJ saved him on one, refs give him fouls that would otherwise be TOs… but this does not bode well for playoff success against even better teams (as last 8 seasons have demonstrated)
#2. I don’t have an answer but can see a not too distant future where JoJo is a 4th option behind Maxey, PG and VJ… and that team, also to your point, could be really fun to watch… and potentially be more successful in playoffs than we even expect..
I don't know that I totally agree on Joel ever being a 4th option or even a 3rd option for that matter. He's too ball-dominant when he's on the floor; he's always going to be involved. Most of the time that is a good thing, as he is still incredibly talented and skilled, and even with the iffy moments at times, he makes a positive impact as this article illustrates. It's going to take a lot for a coach to decide not to have him be the focal point of the offense when he is out there. But when that is not the case, I feel like that will probably just be the end of his career, as I don't find it likely he will push through all the injuries and pain if he's not the guy.
Oh, complete and utter meh. "I forsee a future where all of us are pushing up daisies!" So f in what?
Fact is, and the point of the article is that time isn't now. Fact is, Embiid as primary offensive threat/creator still exists. Fact is those people you are conjecturally putting ahead of him in the offensive pecking order are better with him than when he's injured.
So....yeah he's still figuring out how to best leverage his gravity, but if you think being "fun to watch" losing one series is all anyone could hope for, you are wrong.
I would actually love if you made some more "declarative proclamations." It's funny to me that data dudes so rarely make predictions, despite having the actual knowledge and skill to do so in an informed way. It's cool to learn the numerical representation of more space=everyone plays better, but it would be even cooler to see like... how much higher would the team's offensive rating get if Joel stays healthy for the rest of the season + Nick Nurse is smart enough to play Barlow with him + draw up/advise more weak-side/backdoor cuts. IDK if that makes sense because I'm not an analytics person but it's the type of stuff I would find super compelling.
Thanks for the comment! I feel like a lot of that falls under the bucket of the famous quote: "The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know". Most of the time, these articles stem from me thinking up a question I'm interested in and then trying to answer that question with data. Sometimes that answer leads me to more "declarative proclamations," such as with the "Don't fall for it" article I wrote. Sometimes it's just more an interesting tidbit about the Sixers that could add a different lens to the viewing experience of the team, which is probably more the bucket that this one falls into.