NBA: Each East team’s main concern as they push for the ECF
By FS Staff
What Philly Needs To Worry About: Joel Embiid not dominating
While the Philadelphia 76ers have a multitude of talented players, there is no question whose the top dog. Joel Embiid is the engine that drives the Philly, being second in the league in FTA and FTM, averaging 27 and 14 on only 33 minutes per game. His advanced metrics indicate he is a monster(+6.4 PIPM and 5.49RPM), but watching the first two games of this series would tell a different story. Averaging only 14 points, he had little to no impact and was ineffective.
With similar size and strength, Marc Gasol is one of the few players in the league that can make him work near the basket. Embiid finds it challenging to bully Gasol in the manner he does with most centers in the NBA, and he has struggled at times to find avenues to attack.
However, in Game 3 we saw one of the most dominant players in the league. With Embiid’s ability to relish contact and draw fouls, along with a deft touch near the rim and a splash of 3-point shooting, Joel was a monster who went for 33 and 10 with five blocks. Philly won convincingly, with Joel the catalyst on both ends of the court.
Embiid’s Game 5 performance is indicative of how much the Sixers need him to play well. Embiid had by far his worst game of the series, to the tune of 13 points, six rebounds and a dreadful eight turnovers. Philly was subsequently swept off the floor, and beaten by an astonishing 36 points.
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The offense was stagnant, as without Embiid they simply don’t have the firepower to handle top level squads. Simmons has been effectively useless on the offensive end, with Toronto playing with the slowest pace of any team in the playoffs. Butler has played well, but he can’t fill the void left from Embiid’s poor play. This team was not build to content with Joel playing poorly, and it has shown itself in four out of the five games so far.