Dwight Howard ready to mentor Joel Embiid, says he’s in ‘great shape’
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The Philadelphia 76ers brought in Dwight Howard to be their backup big man to star Joel Embiid. The hope is that with Howard, the team won’t fall off a cliff when Embiid goes to the bench.
However, Howard will also be there to mentor the All-Star. Howard has been through all the wars in his 16-year NBA career and it will be helpful for him to pass that on to Embiid.
“For Joel, it’s just pushing him every single day to know that he’s the best, and every time he steps on the floor he has to be the best player on the floor,” Howard stated. “Whether that be practice, in the weight room, in the training room, all the games is ‘I’m the best player on the floor’. I’m going to show it through my actions, offense and defense.”
The last time we saw Embiid, he was averaging 30 points and 12.3 rebounds in the playoffs, but it was not enough as they were swept by the Boston Celtics in Round 1. The excuses for being swept are plenty from the injury to Ben Simmons to the awkward roster, but at the end of the day, a sweep is a sweep.
That means more work must be done in order to ensure that does not happen ever again.
“He’s out here. He’s on the court,” said Howard as training camp gets underway. “I’ve been watching him the past couple of days and he looks like he’s in great shape. He looks like he’s determined to come back and have an even better year than he had last season and I’m just looking forward to really embracing him and helping him to be the best big man in this era.”
Embiid ended up averaging 23 points and 11.6 rebounds in the 2019-20 regular season and those are good numbers. He made his third consecutive All-Star game, but he dropped off both the All-NBA and All-Defensive teams after being named to those squads the previous two seasons.
With Howard now there to guide him, it is time for Embiid to realize his full potential and lead this team to where it wants to go.
“He has an amazing shot at being one of the greatest at this position to ever play the game and I just want to be somebody who can help him on and off the court,” the veteran finished with. “I really believe in him and his talent, his skill level, and the things he can accomplish and I would love to help him get to the top.”
