Is Joel Embiid's Slow Start a Valid Concern?
The Philadelphia 76ers have opened their season with two difficult matches with back-to-back losses against the defending Eastern Conference champions Boston Celtics and 2020-21 NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks.
Their two losses featured two constants, an in-form James Harden, who is averaging 33 points, eight assists, and eight rebounds, leading the team in scoring during both matches.
The other constant has Sixers fans worrying or befuddled, to say the least; a struggling Joel Embiid.
With fans starting to seed doubt and concern in their franchise player, only two games into the season, the question has to be raised: is The Process' slow start actually worrying?
Embiid's performance during the Sixers' home opener wasn't his best, shooting 6-21 (28.6%) with 12 rebounds and three assists.
Perhaps one of the more frustrating parts of his two performances has been his 10 turnovers, which equates to nearly 40% of the team's overall turnovers.
Looking back over the previous three seasons, Embiid always starts the season slow, which may not be the most memorable part of his game, given that he was the runner-up for the previous two MVP awards.
Stats through the first five games of the season:
2019-20: 23.2 PPG, 12.4 RPG, 3 APG
2020-21: 26.5 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 2.5 APG
2021-22: 21.4 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 4.2 APG
Although Embiid still has three more games before his numbers will be totally clear, his stats so far have lined up with these. Through the first two games of the season, Embiid is averaging 20.5 PPG, 13.5 RPG, and 4 assists, so this isn't exactly an uncharacteristic start for the big man.
Expanding on this, October or the first month of the season (December in the case of the 2020-21 season) tends to be the slowest month for production from Embiid, with his numbers starting to ramp up in the months following.
Stats through the first month of the season:
2019-20: 23.3 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 3.3 APG
2020-21: 26.5 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 2.5 APG
2021-22: 21 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 3.8 APG
With this information, it's clear to see that Embiid's slow start to the season isn't exactly out of pocket for the five-time All-Star.
Plus, Doc Rivers recently revealed that Embiid battled with plantar fasciitis throughout the offseason, taking his typical offseason conditioning off-track.
With the next batch of games coming against the Spurs and Raptors, teams which Embiid always manages to show up against, averaging 21 points against the Raptors and 26 against the Spurs, fans may see the return of the player who they're used to seeing dominating the paint.
Declan Harris contributes to All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him on Twitter: @DecIanH.
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