Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers' injury-prone center, has been a thorn in the side of Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, who now finds his team trailing 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The 7-foot Goliath had his best game of the series with 33 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and five blocks, showing the complete package in a rousing 116-95 win in Game 3.
Yet Nurse thinks the key in regaining control of the series rests in playing with better energy and removing the threat of Embiid from carving them alive, like he did on Thursday night.
Embiid quickly sealed players under the basket — whether it was a stiff Marc Gasol or a smaller but long Pascal Siakam — ruthlessly burying them below the rim with crafty spin moves and an arsenal of effective post moves:
“We’re just going to have to figure out a better way to get him removed from right underneath the basket somehow,” said Nurse after the game, according to Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star. “That was the biggest thing, and then the three-ball. He was good, played with great energy and great decision-making, he was rolling really hard to the basket. When he looked us in the eye for his face-ups he made them as well, and then when they kicked it out to him for a three, he made them, too.”
Embiid had been shooting less than 30% in the series before Game 3, but it seems the added rest and the comfort of being in home confines really helped his game out, being the catalyst he was meant to be in this series and one the Raptors must stop at all costs if they are to turn the tide of this second-round matchup.
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