Embiid's Playground Deficiency: Hindrance to Becoming a Dominant Force

The more I think about it, the more I develop other thoughts. By not growing up in the US playground culture and not really touching a basketball until he was 15, Embiid missed out on the hardening that the best at the playgrounds endure. He never had to play each game knowing that if he didn't win, he'd have to sit. There's pressure to that. The good players learn to adapt, to be creative, especially when they're playing against better players or older, more experienced players. Most importantly, in order to stay on the court, they develop a killer instinct.

As I've watched Embiid over the years as a pro, my impression of his early years, despite the repeated injuries, was that he clowned around too much. Can you recall a great Center who was known for clowning around too much? He was also frequently on the floor. Again, can you recall a great Center who spent so much time prostrate on the floor after a shot?

Yes, Hakeem Olajuwon was similarly raised in Africa and didn't touch a basketball until he was 15. But he was always a determined, clutch player. It's hard for us to say with a straight face that Embiid is a clutch player.

Furthermore, Olajuwon stayed at Houston for four or five years, leading them to multiple Final Fours and championship finals. Again, he was always thought to be clutch. In Houston, he honed his skills by playing against Moses Malone one-on-one in summer leagues while Moses was still in the NBA. Did Embiid ever do that?

There's a toughness that comes from exposing yourself to that level of competition, to wanting to be the greatest.

And remember, Embiid only stayed at Kansas for one year. I know he was voted Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, but eerily and familiarly, he suffered a stress fracture in his back right before the Big 12 Tournament, which he then could not participate in, nor could he participate in the NCAA's, where Kansas lost in the second round.

I am shaking my head as I write this, and it means something. It means that he's never going to be the dominant big we need him to be, the big cat who can put a team on his shoulders and win a clutch game, like closing out a superior Boston team in Game 6 or fighting to beat a determined but jittery Boston team at Boston Garden in Game 7.

And if he's not that guy, who needs him? We don't need a regular season MVP in Philly after all these years. We need a Finals MVP.