Joel Embiid's Decline and Why Trae Young Can Rebound

I wanted to get to some other players here because I didn't even get to talk about some of the players that I truly feel like are washed. And we touched on it a little bit. Joel Embiid. I mean, John, Joel Embiid. Let me just read off his stats. People will say, well, look at his stats. He's not doing that bad on a team that has three stars. 17.7, 9.3, and 3.8 on 37% field goals for a big man, not good. Four for 33 from three when that was one of his big calling cards. A big man that can shoot the way he does. He's played 10 of 12 games. I'll give him that. His last three games, though, John. Six points. 0 of 9 at Cleveland. 18, 7 of 19 against your Chicago Bulls. And then 2 of 9 against Boston. Really not great for a guy that usually needs the ball a lot. They want to run a lot of the offense through, as we've all evidenced. They need the ball to run through him if he's going to be successful. And he said on November 2nd, I will say this, he said he quits three-point shooting. They said he's reportedly down to his rookie weight, John. And I will say, when I'm watching Joel Embiid, it is a disaster. I mean, he cannot move out there and for a Sixers team that is destined to be in a deep playoff run that is destined to be a very high contender in the East, not what you want to see from a guy that you kind of expected to be like Paul George, a renaissance, a rejuvenation. He's down to his rookie weight, right? Here's the issue with Joel Embiid. When you've never really played hard. And then you start losing a little bit of what you did have. You're not going to start playing harder because it's just not in your repertoire. It's not what he does. It's not in his skill set. So I'm glad he has publicly said that he quit shooting threes. I think that's great. Okay. That's like an alcoholic said, I quit drinking. Okay. The second he walks past a liquor store, he's going to be drunk again. Joel Embiid will only be successful the closer to the basket he plays. The reason he's not making threes is the reason we're talking about him right now. He has no lower body strength whatsoever. His knees have failed him. His ankles have failed him. So at this point, he has no lift on his jump shot because everything he's doing on the perimeter, whether it be those elbow shots. Oh, here we go. Sprained ankle. Dog, it's just, it's unbelievable to see. And then he tripped Paul George, by the way. He cannot move like he wants to. And so if he doesn't operate closer to the basket, his numbers will continue to decline. I think this is one of the things where Nick Nurse has to be a better coach. Nick Nurse and LeBron James, or LeBron James and Nick Nurse, however you want to put that mix together, need to get him in a room and be like, hey, brother, within 10 feet, you're not getting the ball. You go in 10 feet, it's all yours. You go outside of 10 feet, you go outside that low block, we're not throwing you the ball unless you are passing to cutters off the elbow. Because the elbow jump shot no longer falls. The three-point shot was always spotty when he made them. He made them when he didn't. He did. Now he's just not making them. And so, in totality, I think he has been the person that I've seen in the NBA that I've looked at and I went, oh, man, this was quick. Another one, John. Trey Young, just not good at all. 11 games, 18. This is what box score watchers will do. 18.5 and 8.7 assists. He's been great. 39.3% from the field. Can I attribute that to something else? And 28.8% from three. Yes, please. I'd love to hear. I've watched, because I wanted to see the rookie. I wanted to see A.J. DeBonson. I've watched their last four games when DeBonson was available. I think what Trae Young is doing, Trae Young is trying to find his way of how to run this team. Because Trae Young still has it, and he'll do it in bursts. But oftentimes, he's looking for George. Georgia scoring numbers are up. He's trying to fill out the rookie. He's getting the ball to AD. He's getting the ball to Alex Sarr. And then he's trying to find his game. I think that's where his struggle is coming in at. I don't think Trae Young has lost a step in any way, shape, or form. Physically, no. I don't think so either. I think he's trying to find his way and how he's going to play with this team. And so he doesn't look like Atlanta Trae Young because he's just not chucking up whatever shot he wants. He's trying to play point guard because he's always been a volume scorer. And if he can't be a volume scorer, these are the statistics that you're getting from him. I'm not worried about Trae Young.