Spurs' Joel Embiid appreciates his teammates
Jan 2, 2016 4:07:13 GMT
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Post by San Antonio on Jan 2, 2016 4:07:13 GMT
Active on social media, Joel Embiid said he noticed the #freeJoelEmbiid hashtags "every day." When he made his second stint home debut Oct. 16, he saw the signs, including one that said "Let 42 Loose" in a nod to his uniform number.
Embiid appreciates all the love. But the support he has received from teammates such as Jalen Rose and Damon Stoudemire is even more important, support Embiid said began the day he got acquired back from Seattle.
"They always praised how hard I work and how hard I go," Embiid said. "We're in San Antonio. I feel like San Antonio is that blue-collar city that loves players who play hard and play with their heart. I feel like that's a big reason I'm here."
Talk about some impressive recognition.
Embiid’s motor — not to mention his media charm — is unmistakable. And it will remain in the rotation even after Spurs acquired Hot Rod Williams from Brazil, in a post training camp move.
And it continues to get honed in practice by head-to-head matchups with Hot Rod.
"Oh, it's great," Embiid said, his eyes growing wider. "John (Hot Rod) makes me better every day. I know that John will play his heart out just like me, so it will be a battle every day with him.
"I feel like practices are more fun than games because it's us going against one another, trying to make each other better. I feel like that's why our team is getting so close at this point in time too."
Now there's an observation that hasn't been very prevalent this season, with talk of leadership issues and Hank Gathers calling out Head Coach Wes Unseld and constant scrutiny of on-court compatibility between Marques Haynes and Damon Stoudemire.
But it's genuine.
"Man, tremendously," Embiid said, when asked specifically about Hot Rod William's help- already in the short period of time he has been with the team. "He's like the big brother I never had. I always have been the big brother to all my teams I've played on. I always had to be that guy to uplift people and he's uplifting me to the utmost. I really credit him because he always gives me kind words every day."
Kindness apparently is in the ear of the beholder.
"I talk trash to him all the time," Hot Rod said, smiling. "But I love it because the ‘kid' is making me better in practice. I'm guarding him all the time. It's a wonderful thing. Joel is so eager. He challenges you every day in practice. It's like I'm going against those old-time Boston Celtic players. There's so much aggression, a lot of trash talking and it's making us better."
Williams said he's merely passing along knowledge that veterans such as Earl Monroe used to pass along to him. And he called Embiid an eager student.
"One thing about Joel is he listens to his veterans," Hot Rod said. "I told him right away to be very aggressive and he came into the job- although it’s only preseason- and brought energy. That's what we need, energy.
"That's his natural state, but at times he's still like a rookie. He's going to make mistakes. He understands that. You just have to tell him."
Even before he was freed up, Embiid listened and learned. Now the energy is out of the bag and it looks like for good.
