The Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors are preparing to take each other on in the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs. The two foes are quite familiar with each other, particularly on the Philly side of things. Star center Joel Embiid has a good idea of what the Raptors are going to attempt to do against him. In fact, Embiid credits Toronto's reckless strategy as one of the things that made him a better NBA player. Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice has the latest.

“The way they defend me has never changed,” Embiid said. “They just play recklessly, sending three guys on me as soon as the ball is in the air. Which, that made me better, honestly, over the years. Just playing against them and watching them, they definitely made me a better playmaker. I enjoy playing them. But there's still a lot of ways I can attack them, it doesn't have to be iso. I can just get deep position on them, use my size and my weight to try to take advantage of them. I think I know what I have to do, I just got to execute.”

Embiid said that the Raptors play him “recklessly”, sending three players on him once he gets the ball. The Sixers' star big man credits that strategy for making him a better playmaker, which the numbers definitely support, as he averaged a career-best 4.2 assists per game this season.

Beyond that, Embiid dished out a few ways that he can “attack” the Raptors, saying that he can use his size to his advantage, a strategy that should certainly pay off, considering Toronto lacks a true center that can go head-to-head with the Sixers star.

Ultimately, it will come down to what Embiid said. He'll just need to “execute.”