The Philadelphia 76ers put on another dominant performance on Saturday night. They never trailed the Charlotte Hornets and led by as many as 53 on their way to a 135-82 win on the road. The Sixers have won six in a row as they have taken advantage of the soft schedule.
Joel Embiid was once again dominant. The reigning league MVP had 42 points on a ridiculous 18-for-23 shooting and was 6-for-6 from the foul line. The big fella didn’t have to see the fourth quarter for the fourth consecutive game.
The Hornets didn’t have much of an answer, and coach Steve Clifford knows there isn’t much one can do against Embiid.
“He’s just such a dominant presence at both ends of the floor,” Clifford told reporters. “The dribble up ones, everything else we tried to double team, but when he just brings the ball up the court and plays one-on-one, there’s really not much you can do.”
Clifford is right about Embiid’s versatility. No longer are the Sixers just dumping the ball to the reigning MVP and letting him work in that area. Coach Nick Nurse and his staff are encouraging him to bring the ball up and make plays. He has done a phenomenal job of it thus far.
“He does it out of the flow,” Clifford added. “Centers are having to do something they normally don’t have to do. I feel like the only guy like that at all would be (Nikola) Jokic. He’s different and he’s great at it. Like I said, all the other stuff we tried to double-team – some of it worked, some of it did not. He crushed us, and I don’t know what you can do, to be honest.”
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