Jimmy Butler joined the 76ers several weeks ago, and the team has been doing stellar ever since. Butler has helped the team achieve the third seed in the Eastern Conference, but superstar Joel Embiid isn't ready to celebrate just yet. The talented big man sat out on Friday night to rest, and Butler led the team to a victory over Detroit.
"I haven't been myself lately," Embiid said to Philly.com. "I think it's mainly because of the way I've been used, which is I'm being used as a spacer, I guess, a stretch-5. But it seems like the past couple games, like with the way I play, our setup, [coach Brett Brown] always has me starting on the perimeter ... and it just really frustrates me." Why would Coach Brown have Embiid on the perimeter? Because Butler has taken control of the offensive tempo. Butler enjoys crashing the basket as well.
“We sometimes have to space the floor,” Embiid explained. “A lot of time, actually, with the way our plays are set up, I tend to spend a lot of time on the perimeter. So it’s an adjustment.” Coach Brown agrees that the team can do a better job of spacing, but he doesn't believe Butler is the crux of the issue. “I don’t want to connect those dots,” Coach Brown stated. “But I think in general we all have to do better at creating space for Joel.” If this team can keep it together, they have a shot at taking the Eastern Conference.