The Philadelphia 76ers were all over the place in Wednesday’s season opener against the Washington Wizards. They were trying to work in a brand new system under coach Doc Rivers and they also were trying to work in new pieces around Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
All of that led to a dysfunctional third quarter where they did not score until the 6:04 mark of the third and they only scored 15 points in the period. The team saw a 13-point lead turn into a 10-point deficit and they needed their star big man to go to work.
Joel Embiid obliged scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter after going scoreless in the third and destroying the team’s defense down low and he made a statement. He finished with 29 points and he led the team to a 113-107 win.
It did help the big fella that the floor was spaced. Rivers threw guys like Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz out there to help space the floor.
“The only thing I’ll say is that it’s easier when the court is just spaced out,” Embiid said with a sigh. “The other team, they have to respect Seth (Curry), they have to respect Shake, they have to respect Furkan, they have to respect the guys that were on the court at the same time as me.”
At that time, the Wizards then went to single coverage on the big man because they could not leave the shooters. Milton, Korkmaz, and Curry are all players who can knock down open looks so that gave Embiid the space he needed to operate.
“At that time, Washington actually went in single coverage and I knew it,” Embiid added. “I knew we were starting to get going, especially after that pitiful third quarter so I had to just concentrate and make plays. It’s not always about scoring, the times that they double, just kick it out. Furkan made a 3, then they stopped doubling, and I just went to work.”
The Sixers still have to work out the kinks, but they know that in a pinch, they can turn to their star and he will carry the team when the time calls for it. The shooting around him obviously helps too.
“That’s what we did,” Rivers said with a smile. “It was good to see Joel face the double teams. He’s going to face them every night and we just have to keep getting better. Get him better and getting the guys better at dealing with it.”
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