” There are no excuses. I’m on the floor so I’m fit to play. » Joel Embiid will not say more about his current state of health. And if he was far from 100% of his means or not, for this Game 2 against the Celtics, after two weeks of absence due to a knee injury.
The C’s, they assumed that it would be rusty and diminished for its recovery. So the idea was to target him. “ He is their central point, we know that. But we didn’t know if he was going to get his full speed or fitness because he took a lot of rest days. So we wanted to run it and see where it was », unveils Malcolm Brogdonbelieving that his team had fulfilled this objective.
His sentiment is confirmed in the numbers. The 76ers pivot certainly blocked five opposing shots, including a dunk attempt by Jaylen Brown. But the locals bet on a significant “spacing” around the 3-point league, forcing the pivot to get out of his racket to cover the shooters.
With 26 attempts in the first match, Joe Mazzulla considered that his team had not tried enough from afar. His men responded with nearly double the number of attempts in Game 2: 51 shots attempted for 20 baskets converted. Where their opponents signed a sad 6/30 in the same sector.
Still a step forward
“ I found that it was going level protection of circle. It’s more a story of 3-point baskets and the fact of not having been able to hold the ball carrier. If we are unable to do so, it will create rotations. We let 3-point shots pass and they took advantage “, concedes Joel Embiid, used for 27 minutes.
At the same time, the latter struggled to express himself in attack. Defended most often by Al Horford, but regularly taken down by two, he settled for 15 points (4/9 on shots), his second smallest outing of the year, with several misses near the circle unusual for him .
” He looked rusty. At the start of the match, I found that he had lacked rhythm on several occasions, and that we had lacked it too. We expected it. We knew that there would be difficulties in bringing him back. I’m glad we got this fixed today. », loose Doc Rivers, implying that the hardest part is over, before moving on to Game 3 of the series, this time in Pennsylvania.
A day of rest awaits Joel Embiid before this meeting, in the hope of mitigating the effects of his injury. ” I was supposed to be out for four to six weeks or something. So I will not be 100% or completely cured during this whole period. […] I feel like I probably would have felt the same as if I had gone back to Game 3. Probably rusty and not myself. But we have just finished with this story. I’m disappointed with the loss, but it’s a step towards being myself again “, positive the MVP.
| Joel Embiid | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2016-17 | PHL | 31 | 25 | 46.6 | 36.7 | 78.3 | 2.0 | 5.9 | 7.8 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 20.2 |
| 2017-18 | PHL | 63 | 30 | 48.3 | 30.8 | 76.9 | 2.3 | 8.7 | 11.0 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 3.7 | 1.8 | 22.9 |
| 2018-19 | PHL | 64 | 34 | 48.4 | 30.0 | 80.4 | 2.5 | 11.1 | 13.6 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 27.5 |
| 2019-20 | PHL | 51 | 30 | 47.7 | 33.1 | 80.7 | 2.8 | 8.9 | 11.6 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 1.3 | 23.0 |
| 2020-21 | PHL | 51 | 31 | 51.3 | 37.7 | 85.9 | 2.2 | 8.4 | 10.6 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 1.4 | 28.5 |
| 2021-22 | PHL | 68 | 34 | 49.9 | 37.1 | 81.4 | 2.2 | 9.6 | 11.7 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 1.1 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 30.6 |
| 2022-23 ★ | PHL | 66 | 35 | 54.8 | 33.0 | 85.7 | 1.7 | 8.4 | 10.2 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 33.1 |
| Total | 394 | 32 | 50.1 | 33.7 | 81.9 | 2.2 | 8.9 | 11.2 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 3.4 | 1.7 | 27.2 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
