Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid had a night to forget on Monday evening, going scoreless for the first time in his NBA career in a loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Embiid took 11 shots, and missed all of them. He went 0-of-4 from 3-point range and 0-of-3 from the free-throw line. Doughnuts all around.
It was the latest bad outing Embiid has had against Raptors center Marc Gasol, who has had Embiid's number for quite some time.
Embiid is one of the top bigs — and best players in general — in basketball, so whenever an opponent finds a way to limit him, it's a pretty big deal, and Gasol has done much more than that.
For example, during the Sixers' second-round playoff series with the Raptors last spring, Embiid — a 7-foot, 250-pound behemoth — shot just 37 percent from the floor.
Most of that came with Gasol defending him.
So, why does Embiid struggle so much against Gasol?
The answer is simple: Gasol has size and strength.
Much of Embiid's dominance stems from the fact that he is bigger and stronger than just about everyone in the NBA. He doesn't have the versatile post moves of a Tim Duncan or a Kevin Garnett. He doesn't have the skill of a Dirk Nowitkzi. He is simply a powerful force who gets a large number of buckets from sheer will alone.
That's not to say that Embiid isn't skilled, because he unquestionably has terrific ability, particularly for a man of his size, but the fact that he labors against bigger centers does indicate that his size plays more of a role in his effectiveness.
This isn't just limited to Marc Gasol, either.
Remember: two years ago in the playoffs, then-Boston Celtics center Aron Baynes proved to be a kryptonite of Embiid, as Baynes is one of the few players in the league who is every bit as strong — if not stronger — than the All-Star. Embiid tried his best to go to work in the post against Baynes, but was either forced into tough shots or was pushed away from the basket, where he had to settle for long 2s and some 3s.
Gasol is a similar deterrent.
He's big, he's strong, he's tough and he's crafty. This is a former Defensive Player of the Year we are talking about here, and he isn't exactly fun-sized.
And while Gasol and other bigger centers like Baynes absolutely deserve credit for their tremendous defense, Embiid also needs to shoulder some of the blame here for not adjusting.
Let's face it: zero points is zero points. I don't care who is defending you. If you are a superstar and an MVP candidate, you can't be putting up a doughnut. It's unacceptable.
In matchups like this, Embiid needs to focus more on easy buckets and setting up for his teammates rather than trying to force the issue, which results in these types of 0-for-11 nights.
Embiid is used to overpowering his opponents. Ninety percent of the time, that's what he does. But when he comes up against a center just as burly as himself, he struggles.
This is nothing new. But it's something Embiid needs to fix.
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