Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid the playmaker is crucial to a Round 1 win

Joel Embiid is really, really good at a lot of things.

He’s the Philadelphia 76ers‘ best overall offensive player, their linchpin defensive player, and one of the rare players who can see from anywhere at almost any time. Do you need a bucket around the basket? Embiid is so good that even Rudy Gobert has to call for help when they are one-on-one. How about a spin-around mid-range J, the likes of which the NBA hasn’t routinely witnessed since Kobe Bryant donned the purple and gold almost a decade ago? Embiid has made it his mission to master that particular shot. Heck, Embiid even has a 3-point shooting percentage – 81.4 – and a free throw percentage – 37.1 – that both rank in the top-5 among centers.

If the Sixers are going to beat out the Toronto Raptors and unlock Matisse Thybulle for the remainder of the playoffs, they’re going to need Embiid to extend his April scoring averages into the postseason, as he averaged 37.8 points and 14.8 rebounds in just 36.8 minutes of action per game, but that alone won’t overpower Nick Nurse’s club. The Raptors have shown a willingness to send their legion of interchangeable defenders at Embiid without giving his teammates a second thought and have largely been able to get away with it even once James Harden joined the team.

No, if the Philadelphia 76ers are going to pull out the W in four of the series’ seven games, they’ll need to see Joel Embiid, the playmaker, a fact he himself attested to during his media availability on Thursday.

Joel Embiid will need a little help from his Philadelphia 76ers teammates.

“The way they defend me has never changed. 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.”

This quote, attributed to Joel Embiid via a transcript from The PhillyVoice’s Kyle Neubeck, perfectly encapsulates what Philadelphia 76ers fans should expect on Saturday, April 16th, when the Toronto Raptors take the court at the Wells Fargo Center for night one of the first rounds of the 2022 NBA Playoffs. Masai Ujiri has strategically assembled a roster where 12 of the team’s 17 players measure in between 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-9 and has afforded Nick Nurse the luxury of being able to switch defensively across positions without generating an obvious mismatch, especially when Fred VanVleet, himself a fantastic defender, is off the court.

While the Raptors don’t have a single center who can hold back Embiid’s offensive floodgates alone, as their biggest center, Khem Birch, is a good three inches shorter and 45 pounds lighter than “The Process,” they do have a dozen different players who can at least hold their own without giving up too big of a mismatch before the help defender arrives. Factor in Nurse’s aggressive tendencies and willingness to go for the unconventional even if it drives “old heads” crazy, and Embiid will have to deal with more varied coverages than almost any other team he’s faced all year.

Even if he knows help is coming, Embiid won’t know where it’s coming from, which gives Toronto an ability to get aggressive and attack the ball directly.

Fortunately, there’s a way to attack double-coverages that has the ability to neutralize the defensive strategy entirely, or at the very least make opposing teams pay for doing so: Pass the darn ball.

I know, crazy, right? If two defenders are swarming a ball-handler, that means one of his teammates is unguarded and thus can get off an open shot if the ball comes his way. For another center, this might be easier said than done, as 7-footers aren’t typically known for their abilities to pass the ball and facilitate an offense, but Embiid, for the millionth reason, isn’t your typical center and has an ability to facilitate an offense almost as well as he can be the focal point of one.

Over his 68 games of regular season action, Embiid averaged 4.2 assists per game, which ranked third on the Sixers behind only James Harden and Tyrese Maxey. His passes made, 46.2, similarly rank third on the team, as did his secondary assists, .6, and his potential assists of 7.0, which again trail Philly’s primary point guards. Now granted, some of that development has come because of how many double-teams Embiid draws in any given game. When a team is sending three bodies at one player, passing out of a touch bucket is an easy way to save some energy for when it matters. But I’ve personally been calling for Embiid to pass more for years now, and in 2021-22, Philly’s franchise player finally vindicated those beliefs by becoming not only a willing passer, but a darn good one.

Needless to say, if the Raptors come ready with their typical defensive strategy, expect the Sixers to be ready for it.

On paper, the Philadelphia 76ers have enough talent to beat the Toronto Raptors. They have more top-end talent, more certified All-NBA players, and even if they don’t quite have the same quality of bench player, they can make up for it with some smart rotational decisions like playing Paul Reed at backup center. One of those easy adjustments is making sure that Joel Embiid gets a ton of on-court run with shooters like Danny Green, James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, and Tobias Harris – assuming he keeps his quick trigger – as it will allow “The Process” to dictate the game and ensure that the best shot goes up as often as possible.