Joel Embiid Working to Be a 'Bully on the Block,' Says Skills Coach Drew Hanlen

Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid has emerged as one of the NBA's best two-way players, impacting the game as both a rim-protecting defender and a low-post threat. 

But this offseason, he's been working with Pure Sweat Basketball's Drew Hanlen, a shooting and skills coach, to become even more efficient down low.

"Obviously, he was really good in the mid-post last season," Hanlen told Alex Kennedy on The HoopsHype Podcast. "But when you look at the game where he had 46 points, the Lakers game, and if you look at the game before when I think he had 32 against the Clippers, he was a bully down low. Our first thing is just becoming a bully on the block."

Hanlen noted he was also working with Embiid this summer on improving his three-point shot—the big man shot 30.8 percent from beyond the arc last season—and on limiting his turnovers and "being able to make plays while facing up."

"That means tightening up his handles, making more plays off the bounce, changing directions and adding some face-up moves so he can be better in that category as well," Hanlen said.

Embiid's upside remains immense. The 24-year-old was an All-Star last season, as he averaged 22.9 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game while leading the Sixers to the Eastern Conference semifinals. He's still relatively green as a pro, having missed his first two seasons because of injury and playing in just 31 games during the 2016-17 campaign. 

So there are areas for growth. Because Embiid was recovering from knee surgery last offseason and didn't play back-to-backs until midway through the season, he looked a bit out of shape down the stretch. Turnovers were also an issue, as he coughed up the ball 3.7 times per game. While Embiid improved his passing out of double-teams last season, he was loose with the ball in general. 

The fact that the Sixers didn't have many players who could create their own shot last season, often putting a burden on Embiid to generate offense late in the shot clock, didn't do him many favors. The hope this season is that Markelle Fultz can rehabilitate his jumper and give the Sixers both a three-level scorer and a pick-and-roll partner for Embiid.

Hanlen is also working with Fultz and provided a small update on the 2017 top overall pick:

"What I can tell you is that he's doing very well. I think that a lot of people think that we're hiding him, and we're not hiding him. We're just being very strategic in what we share because, obviously, you don't want to ever add pressure to a player when you don't have to. Fans and the media would love to be able to witness every workout of every player that I work with, especially with guys like Markelle. All I can say is that it's going really well and that we're purposely doing things just to protect him right now. But I think Philly fans will be very excited."

Additionally, improvements to Ben Simmons' shooting range and overall game would make him an extremely tough cover and take some of the pressure off Embiid to create offense if the team is struggling to get its perimeter shooters open. 

The fact that Embiid could generate so much offense from the center position, at a time when the league is going increasingly small, was impressive. And if he makes the improvements Hanlen and he are working on, he'll be borderline unstoppable. But the development of Philadelphia's other young stars should help Philly's big man improve and would make the Sixers a true title contender next season.