The Bulls had just beaten the Sixers but, this time, Joel Embiid was back, and Billy Donovan could only see that facing Philadelphia with and without the reigning MVP had absolutely nothing to do with it…
“They are two different teams”said the Bulls coach. “You're not going to be able to defend him one-on-one. You must face it with five players present at all times. »
And despite that, Chicago failed to contain the opposing monster, who finished the game with 31 points at 10/20 shooting, 15 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 blocks in just 31 minutes. This is his 7th career triple-double, concluded on a blind pass while he often brought the ball up and displayed his good readings of the game.
A resumption match…
However, Joel Embiid sometimes seemed to be in slow motion, while he assures that his ankle immobilized him for a long time.
“I couldn’t do anything until the last two or three days”, he explained. “That’s when I was able to put a little weight on my supports. Yesterday I was able to go out on the field to see how I felt. I felt pretty good and that’s why we decided for me to come back today.”
Nick Nurse found that his leader was moving rather well, even if the coach noted that his pivot was quickly running out of steam. But this match against the depleted Bulls was ideal to revive the reigning MVP.
“I was dead”confirmed Joel Embiid. “I couldn't play more than three or four minutes at a time. It makes sense because yesterday (Monday) was the only time I did anything, but yeah, it was hard. »
And it was even more so for the Bulls…
