SIMMONS: Embiid is a huge man, a huge challenge for the Raptors

0

Article content

When last the Raptors saw Joel Embiid in a playoff series, it was as though he was one of The Three Little Bears of the NBA.

Advertisement 2

Article content

Every day and every game was either too hot or too cold — and never just right.

He was a drama figure of 7-foot proportions. One day he limped. The next day he limped on the other leg. His elbow bothered him. His shoulder bothered him. His knees were bothering him. His ankles were bothering him. His eyes were bothering him.

And, of course, Marc Gasol was there to bother him as well.

Every day in a seven-game series was a different story, a different script of drama: Which Embiid was going to show up that night, with what kind of ailment, and what kind of performance and story to tell.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

He was a bit of a giant Eeyore back then, finding something wrong every day and leaving everyone guessing as to what might be next.

Well, Gasol has left the Raptors and is now into his retirement and undoubtedly coach Nick Nurse will come up with some kind of plan for the often unstoppable Embiid. Some coaches might say — let him score his 30 points a game and we’ll worry about stopping the rest of the Philadelphia 76ers. Some might – as you would expect from Nurse — come up with some kind of intricate plan to keep the ball out of his hands as much as possible.

Advertisement 3

Article content

This much we know: The Joel Embiid the Raptors faced in 2019 is nothing at all like the Joel Embiid they are about to face in this best-of-seven opening round of the NBA playoffs. He has left most of his drama queen days behind him. He led the NBA in scoring and should finish in the Top Three in the Most Valuable Player voting. He is known by his teammates for being overly serious: No one is rolling their eyes about him the way they were three years ago.

Embiid scored 40 points or more 10 times this season He scored 30 points or more 36 times. He scored more than 25 points or more 48 times. He has been mostly unstoppable individually on a team that won just a few more games than the Raptors managed and Philadelphia doesn’t have the depth of scoring the Raptors do.

Advertisement 4

Article content

In the famous playoff series of three years ago, before Kawhi Leonard hit the magical winning shot at Scotiabank Arena, the Raptors pretty much figured out Embiid. He had one big scoring game in the seven-game series. He scored 33 points in Game 3. In the next three games, between all the time in the training room and all the rumours of whether he would play or not, he scored just 41 points in total.

In Game 7, he scored 21; Kawhi scored 41. The Raptors won by two and the Sixers went home in the second round, just as they did the year before and last year. This is a different team now with Ben Simmons gone, with Jimmy Butler long gone, with J.J. Reddick retired. And this is a different Raptors team, with Leonard in Los Angeles, Gasol retired, Kyle Lowry in Miami with Danny Green in Philly. The only starter left is Pascal Siakam. Against the trees of the 76ers, Fred VanVleet looked too small to contribute in 2019: His place in the NBA was questioned at the time. He scored all of 17 points in the seven-game series, no more than five in any game. Zero in one game, one point in two others.

Advertisement 5

Article content

It’s a different VanVleet now just as it’s a different Embiid and certainly a different Sixers unit with Doc Rivers coaching, with James Harden still trying to be impactful: This will not be an easy series for either team but this much we know now: Embiid is the best player on either team.

But what kind of playoff player will he be? The Raptors have all kinds of size up front, just nobody who individually matches up to the size and multitude of talents that Embiid has. This has been his greatest season. He had five games against the playoff Raptors in 2019 in which he scored 17 points or less in the series.

He has four games all season in Philadelphia in which he scored 17 or fewer points.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

This is a different Embiid. Stronger. More serious. Less dramatic. More commanding. And no one is rolling their eyes when asked about him. They’ve watched him grow all season long: He finished April by scoring 41, 45 and 44 in three of his final five games. He has been unstoppable since December.

And now it’s playoff time and he has to put the past behind him. No time for limping or complaining. This is a giant of a man and a giant of a challenge for the Raptors.

[email protected]
twitter.com/simmonssteve

Advertisement 1

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our  Twitter, & Facebook

We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.

For all the latest Basketball News Click Here 

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! Rapidtelecast.com is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
Leave a comment