By Robert Masusock

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The recent SI article regarding Joel Embiid and his insubordination during rehab has been overblown throughout the media over the past couple of days. On a national level, I understand this, but locally this is old news from months ago. There had been reports Embiid weighed 300 pounds, which came as a huge shock especially after looking at the guy. He looked bigger than he had but that was to be expected from someone with a foot injury and unable to work out. According to the article, he let food that had been left as part of his nutritional program rot and found an affinity for Shirley Temples.

I can’t pretend I was too happy seeing him dunk, as much as I found it awe inspiring it was frustrating to see him doing such ridiculous dunks with ease. I can’t pretend I am not mad that he won’t be playing this season or that if he doesn’t ever play it doesn’t matter. What I can do and feel okay is to tell you that the Sixers are in a spot that makes Embiid playing nothing but a bonus.

Nerlens Noel was ROBBED of the rookie of the year award last season but showed a ton of promise, particularly in the defensive end. He brought a different presence to this Sixers’ defense that hasn’t been felt since Sam Dalembert, but that comparison does Noel little justice. He wasn’t just a presence but was among league leaders in blocks with 1.9 per game, to go along with 1.8 steals, highly impressive numbers for a rookie big man. Offensively he displayed playmaking ability ahead of his years with flashy passes and great vision managing 1.7 assists a game, again great numbers for a rookie big man. His lack of bulk was also supposed to be an issue, but he was still able to average nearly a double-double with 9.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Making those numbers more impressive is that he only got better as the year went on; most notable was the development of his free throw shooting from 56% pre All Star game to 66% post All Star break.

Now joining forces with Noel and his defensive dominance is Jahlil Okafor who has extraordinary offensive ability for a big man his age. This preseason and during the Summer League he showed off  a nice shooting touch from the elbow as well as some nice foot work in the paint. As he develops, the floor will free up for Noel to cut to the basket or for him, or one of the shooters on this team, to take open shots. According to a CSN Philly article following the preseason match up against the Nets, when Nerlens was asked about the ridiculous alley-oop he slammed home courtesy of a Big Jah pass, he responded “We’re getting more and more comfortable… As time goes on and we play more games, we learn each other’s tendencies, where he likes to be on the court, where I like to get the ball on the court, so I think it’s only going to get better and better..”.

One of the aforementioned shooters is Robert Covington who seemingly came out of nowhere last season to show the Sixers and the few fans that watched, his potential as an offensive weapon. Covington shot 37% from deep (167/446) and just under 43% from inside the three point line. Pair that with his length at 6’9” and he has 3-and-D man written all over him, an almost necessary role player in today’s NBA.

Jerami Grant is a very underrated piece of the Sixers’ future. He started the year very slowly and was injured, but come seasons end he worked his way onto the court as a part of the regular rotation. Unfortunately, with the increased workload came a decrease in efficiency as he saw his 3 point percentage drop along with his free throw percentage. One aspect that remained consistent was his defense and he averaged a block per game and just over a half a steal.

The big question marks remain the point guard position and European star Dario Saric. The panic over whether Saric will make the leap to the NBA is ridiculous. There has never been doubt about him coming over and when he was drafted it was made known it would be at least two years before he made the leap across the pond. All indications appear to be he will be a great addition despite the overblown fear accompanying any European star.

Point guard is a major hole but can easily be filled by Sam Hinkie. The Sixers have a number of first round draft picks in the coming draft and traditionally guards are easier to find than big men. The good news is we have our big men (and possibly plus one) we just need a man to captain the ship and Hinkie could find him via the draft or by swinging a trade using some of the stockpile of draft picks that he has accumulated.

Joel Embiid needs to get healthy, it will be best for all parties involved but the decision to draft him was the right one to make. Going for the star at that point is all that made sense. Even if they didn’t draft Embiid, who were they to draft? No one else had near the same potential as Joel who was the number one pick a few weeks prior to draft day. If he fails to get healthy the team will survive, but if he does get healthy look out for the rotation of seven footers Brett Brown could unleash. Either way Hinkie has got the Sixers closer to a title now than they were at any point during the Andrew Bynum era.

Follow me on Twitter: @President_Rob51 Instagram: @RMasusock