Should We Be Concerned With Embiid’s Mindset In The NBA Bubble?

Ever since Joel Embiid was drafted by the 76ers in the 2014 NBA Draft, there have been questions about him from segments of the fan base and the media who cover the NBA.  Aside from questions about his health and durability, with Embiid averaging 57 Games Played Per season over the last three years, there are also questions about Joel's mentality as a basketball player.

The most infamous incident highlighting these concerns was back in December when TNT NBA  analysts Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal publicly called out Embiid for his lackluster play; Joel responded with 38 Points performance versus the Celtics but continued to be inconsistent with his play the rest of the season.

Despite being a two-time All-NBA Team and All-Defensive team selection over the last three seasons, questions still linger about if the 26 Year Old Superstar will ever fully reach his full potential if his mind and body are not up to the challenge ahead of him.

One of the biggest reasons why the Sixers team are considered perennial contenders in the Eastern Conference is because of what Joel Embiid is capable of doing on the basketball court each night.

Kevin Kinkead from Crossing Broad joined The Sports Bash on Monday with his concerns and perspective on Joel Embiid's mindset as the Sixers ramp up in preparation for the restart of the NBA season down in the Bubble:

"The first thing (the media) hears from Joel Embiid is he hates the idea of the bubble, so he probably doesn't want to be down there in the first place or he's not too excited about, then you hear about (the right calf discomfort)....Just doesn't feel like the right frame of mind or the right cloud hanging over Joel Embiid right now, when you have something small like this before you really doing any serious work and just practice of course it's going to make people scratch their heads.  I'd be more concerned with where his head is at, whether he wants to be down there, versus anything physically but you never know with Joel. - It's that's killer instinct I think that people are looking for, its nice to hear say those things that he's playing for the city and he's playing for his teammates and stuff but I also want him to play for himself too and feel like he loves playing basketball and feel like this is something he really wants to do instead of wearing the hazmat suit down to Orlando just to play FIFA (video game) in his hotel room."

Check out what Kinkead had to say about Ben Simmons, review of the Sixers first two scrimmage games, perspective on differences in COVID19 Protocols among the Professional Sports Leagues, and more