As the Philadelphia 76ers prepare for the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of their Round 1 series on Saturday, now is the time where both sides go through their preparation for one another and they understand their opponent.
The Sixers understand that the Raptors will muck the game up and they will make life tough on them while Toronto understands that they are going to have to contend with an MVP candidate in the form of Joel Embiid.
The big fella led the league in scoring at 30.6 points per game and he is going to be a huge issue for the Raptors to deal with. In three games against Toronto, Embiid averaged 29 points on 46.6% shooting.
Raptors star guard Fred VanVleet was asked about Embiid and he compared the MVP candidate to the great Michael Jordan as well as Shaquille O’Neal and Kevin Durant.
VanVleet on Embiid: "He was more back to the basket (in 2019), playing like a 5. Now he's turned into Kevin Durant, Michael Jordan, Kobe, Shaq all put together."
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 14, 2022
They’re not wild comparisons from VanVleet. Despite standing at 7-feet tall, Embiid is one of the rare players in the league who can score at all three levels and he is able to take somebody off the dribble. There are not a lot of players his size who can do that and that is why he gets the respect he receives on a daily basis.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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