Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid knows he will have a hard time against Toronto Raptors big man Marc Gasol, whom he called a “great defender.”
The Sixers meet the Raptors on Saturday for Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals matchup. Philly is coming off a 4-1 series win against the Brooklyn Nets in the first round, during which Embiid dominated and put up 25.3 points, 13.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.0 steal and 3.7 blocks in the four games he played in.
Embiid, however, is wary of the threat the Raptors bring, particularly Gasol who shut down All-Star center Nikola Vucevic in the Raptors' opening round showdown with the Orlando Magic.
Embiid said he knows Gasol a bit, that Marc would text him advice after some of their previous meetings. "Marc is a great player and a great defender, so it's going to be a tough series… I have a lot of respect for him."
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 27, 2019
The Sixers center also emphasized that it's going to be a lot tougher compared to his matchup with Nets' big man Jarrett Allen, saying that he was just chilling during their series with Brooklyn.
Embiid praised Gasol, Siakam & the Raps. He almost went the entire avail without throwing shade until: "(Gasol) can shoot, so it’s going to be different than the Brooklyn series. In the Brooklyn series I was just basically chilling, no disrespect to all the big guys on that team"
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 27, 2019
Marc Gasol is a former All-Star and ex-Defensive Player of the Year, so Joel Embiid has every reason to be cautious about their matchup. Not to mention that the Spain international also had tons of playoff experience, having made it to the postseason seven times as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Gasol averaged 8.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.0 steals in five starts for the Raptors against the Magic. While his numbers are not that flashy, it's what he does on the defensive end that makes him valuable for Toronto. In fact, against him, Vucevic was limited to just 11.2 points, 8.0 boards and 3.0 dimes.
Embiid ha his work cut out for him, and unlike in the Brooklyn series, he can't chill this time.
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