Joel Embiid has been the standout star of the Philadelphia 76ers in the playoffs this season. Stopping him will be key to the Toronto Raptors winning the series.
There are many outstanding players featuring in this incarnation of the NBA Playoffs, and unfortunately for the Toronto Raptors, they’ll be facing one of them in Round 2.
The man standing between the Raptors and their second ever trip to the Eastern Conference Finals is Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers. Obviously, the Sixers have a plethora of talent in their ranks. Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler and to some extent, Tobias Harris, are all stars in their own right.
This is Embiid’s team, though.
If you needed any more proof of that, you only have to look back to the last five games as the Philadelphia 76ers bounced the Brooklyn Nets out of the playoffs in five games, even with Embiid only playing in four of them. In those four games, Embiid was the standout performer for a Sixers team that took some time to get into a rhythm.
He averaged 24.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.8 blocks, and one steal per game across his first four games. Oh, and he did it all in 24 minutes per game, yikes. Embiid battered and bruised Jarrett Allen (literally) en route to putting his stamp all over the series.
The fact that Embiid has only had to exert himself 24 minutes per night means he should, technically, have a lot left in the tank to battle the Toronto Raptors. Yay.
Stopping Embiid becomes priority 1A and 1B for the Raptors, and with Marc Gasol at the helm, they might just have a chance to do so.
But still, expect nothing short Embiid’s best for at least four games in this series.
The Raptors are going to have to contend with Embiid’s physical style of play, which means a lot of post-ups. Only LaMarcus Aldridge posted up more times per game than Embiid in the regular season, who went to the post 8.1 times per game for the Sixers. From those opportunities, he created 1.05 points per possession, placing him in the 78th percentile.
In other words, Embiid ranks along with the games elite stars when it comes to bumping down low. In fairness, that’s exactly where he should be.
They also need to be wary of Embiid crashing the glass. His offensive rebounding numbers are through the roof so far. He’s averaging 3.3 offensive rebounds per game and his overall rebounding percentage is at 40.3-percent.
With a usage percentage of 38.4-percent, you just know the Sixers are going to feed the ball to their best offensive weapon and he’s going to get results.
Marc Gasol might be able to dampen Embiid’s expectations for a brief moment, but he’s just too good to be kept quiet for a whole series. Raptors beware.