Philadelphia 76ers star big man Joel Embiid is one of the rare big men who can do it all. He can dominate on the block, he can score in the midrange, he can knock down triples, he draws fouls, and he also is one of the best defensive players as well.
As the Sixers prepare for the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, they will be matched up with the great Stephen Curry who is chasing a 3-point record. While one can acknowledge how great Curry is, he also understands how terrific Embiid is and how tough of a cover he is.
“It’s difficult, obviously,” Curry said of Embiid at practice on Friday. “He’s super talented, physical with his presence, it seems like the control of his game, his decision-making, in terms of how he’s getting his points has evolved every year. You have to just be disciplined all game knowing he’s still going to get his numbers, as long as you make him work, don’t give him easy ones, keep him off the foul line, any great player like that, you’ll take your chances.”
Embiid is absolutely terrific in the low post as he is a guy who will either get fouled or he will get an easy bucket. He is one of those classic low post centers and he draws a lot of comparison to some of the best centers in the game.
“Playing against Joel is like going into a time machine,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “It’s like playing against Patrick Ewing or Shaq or Hakeem Olajuwon, it’s a low post-game. He will step out and shoot 3s and run some DHOs and he’s good with that, but he’s one of the few guys in the league now who can dominate a game from the low block and they’ve done a great job with their roster. Putting a lot of shooting around him.”
Kerr is not wrong about the things Embiid can do outside of the low post. He can step out and shoot the ball and that allows him to have a lot of dribble handoffs with players such as Seth Curry and Tyrese Maxey in order to create offense. The shooting Philadelphia has put around him has also helped his game immensely.
“Doc (Rivers) does a great job just making you guard everyone, putting you in tough spots where you have to make decisions, and leave some people open potentially,” Kerr continued. “So a very difficult cover and we definitely have our hands full.”
Embiid also draws a ton of fouls. That puts the opposition in a lot of trouble.
“If he gets everything and gets to the foul line and gets the putbacks and easy stuff and you break down, that’s where you get in trouble,” Steph Curry added. “You just gotta stay disciplined. It’s not just on Loon (Kevon Looney), Draymond (Green), Juan (Toscano-Anderson), it’s on everybody.”
The Sixers and the Warriors will match up at 8:30 p.m. EST on Saturday.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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