PHILADELPHIA — To successfully slow Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, teams have to send waves of defenders and different schemes at him.
In Wednesday’s win over the Detroit Pistons, Embiid was faced with more of the same. The Pistons sent plenty of double teams and different coverages to try to throw him off, but the big fella was patient and he made the right play every time. He attacked when given the opportunity, and he was terrific with his passing.
He had 22 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the win. Afterward, his teammates were impressed with his passing.
“I just think he’s taking his time out there and really figuring and understanding that he can pick apart a lot of other team’s defenses,” said Tobias Harris who had 17 points. “I thought he did a great job of just seeing the double team, kicking it out, allowing us to get up open 3s and open looks and to be able to just live with that result.”
Patience with his teammates is the most important thing. Embiid continues to trust them and pass to open shooters rather than forcing a shot.
“Knowing some nights they’re gonna go in, some nights they’re not, but if we can play with that type of mindset, that helps the whole group and I think it opens up the game for him as well,” Harris added. “When we’re hot out there, that’s a hard team to guard.”
Of course, it also helps that coach Doc Rivers has instructed Embiid to operate more from the elbows. When he’s in the high post, he can see the floor much better and he can understand better where the double teams are coming from rather than being on the block the whole time.
“That’s an area where he just keeps getting better,” said Rivers. “He’s gotta keep getting better at it. Teams are gonna come. We expected them to come at him early. I thought he handled it perfect. Just getting rid of it, getting shots, and then they didn’t come, and he went to work. He also knows where they’re trapping. He can catch it at the elbow and attack from there.”
On top of having Embiid work from that spot, the Sixers also need everybody to be on the same page and ensure that they have the proper floor spacing to operate.
“He’s passing the ball well,” Rivers added. “His timing of the pass is really good, our spacing is really good, our cuts are really good.”
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