Philadelphia 76ers: (Re)watch Joel Embiid make the block of the year

Friends, these are the same Philadelphia 76ers as years prior.

Indefinitely down their nine-figure, three-time All-Star point guard and with Tobias Harris sidelined with a reportedly rough case of COVID – get well soon! – these Sixers are playing fast, having fun, and most improbably of all, winning a ton of games off the strength of their role players.

Furkan Korkmaz has become a walking bucket. Matisse Thybulle is still a menace. Tyrese Maxey has scored in double digits in all but one of the games he’s appeared in thus far while doubling his assist total from last season.

And Georges Niang? Well, the fifth year forward is playing like a $20 million man playing on a deal worth less than $8 over two years.

Surely this is a team that’s a ton of fun to watch and even better to follow, as the players genuinely seem to like each other, which is more than their counterparts in Boston can currently say.

So naturally, when a team is playing for each other and playing darn well at both ends of the court, it’s going to beget some highlight-level playing right?

To quote the Kool-aid man, “Oh yeah.”

So, with half of the team currently on the mend for one reason or another, why not watch, or rewatch, Joel Embiid make the block of the year to all but secure the Philadelphia 76ers their sixth win of the season against a red hot Chicago Bulls club?

Philadelphia 76ers will remember this block for a very long time.

If you will, allow me to set the stage; after rallying back from a 14 point deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 128-114, the Chicago Bulls were ready to play spoiler yet again when they took the court at the Wells Fargo Center against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Down 12 heading into the fourth, DeMar DeRozan and company brought that lead down to four with a minute to go in the game, riding the momentum to what felt like yet another blown save at “The Center.” After watching Embiid brick a mid-ranger at the other end of the court, DeRozan scored a quick two before watching the lead balloon back to four with 10 seconds to go.

The Bulls called a timeout, the Sixers subbed out Furkan Korkmaz for Matusse Thybulle, and DeRozan drove to the basket looking to land a quick two.

And then, Joel Embiid chose violence.

Now, as fans in the 215 know all too well, Embiid can be the best defensive player in the NBA. He doesn’t always deliver max effort on the defensive end of the court, as he’s just as heavily used on the offensive end of the court, but when it counts, few can match his sheer athleticism.

Watch DeRozan learn that lesson firsthand below.

My goodness.

While there was some speculation as to whether Embiid’s block was or wasn’t a foul, as that play looked particularly violent in the moment, the replay proved that “The Process” got all ball, and thus the play was ruled legal.

And that, effectively, was game. Tyrese Maxey scored one more point on a free throw, and the Sixers left the game winners 103-98.

And scene.

The moral of the story? Even if Joel Embiid isn’t quite scoring at the same level as in years past, he’s still one of the best players in the NBA and not someone, even an elite scorer like DeMar DeRozan, should mess with in the painted area.