Priority No. 1 for the Nets of their upcoming first-round playoff sequence towards the Philadelphia 76ers is holding MVP favourite Joel Embiid off the free throw line — and hopefully, decrease on the scoreboard.
Welcome to Nets Playoff Intel, the primary installment in a weeklong sequence as No. 6 Brooklyn prepares for an uphill battle towards No. 3 Philadelphia.
And on a Sixers group with reliable championship aspirations, it’s no secret Embiid goes to do at the least a reasonable — if not important — quantity of harm to a Nets group that doesn’t fairly have a participant his dimension on the roster.
The Sixers’ star heart is averaging 33 factors and 10 rebounds per recreation. His utter dominance has propelled him previous two-time award-winner Nikola Jokic to the forefront of MVP conversations coming into the playoffs.
Yet whereas a big chunk of Embiid’s scoring functionality comes by advantage of his dimension, power and talent, a 3rd of his factors come uncontested.
At the foul line.
Embiid takes a median of about 12 free throws per recreation and converts on 10 of them — an 85.7% clip trumping all facilities in effectivity whereas main the following heart on the listing (Jokic) by 5.7 free throw makes an attempt per recreation.
In every of his final 5 video games towards the Nets, Embiid has made at the least 9 free throws, has made as many as 15 and has shot as many as 19.
“Obviously Joel is an MVP caliber player. Thirty-three points per game. Dominant on both ends. I think the big thing with us is how often he gets to the line,” stated reserve sharpshooter Joe Harris after Tuesday’s apply on the HSS Training Facility in Industry City. “I don’t think you’re gonna completely limit his scoring ability, but if you can limit some of his free ones — he shoots 86 percent from the line — so if you can limit him being there even a little bit, I think it can be helpful for us.”
Therein lies the query: How? How does David cease Goliath with out casting the primary stone?
Embiid stands seven toes tall and checks in at 280 kilos. He can take his man off the dribble from as far out because the three-point line, set up low submit place and bully his method to the rim, or catch the ball within the excessive submit and face-up for both a mid-range shot or a drive to the rim. He’s a menace in pick-and-roll conditions and he hits a 3rd of his makes an attempt from three-point vary.
And if that’s not sufficient, he’s additionally a famous foul hunter. Embiid nonetheless makes use of the swing-through transfer to attract fouls, even when it doesn’t ship the offensive participant to the free throw line anymore. It nonetheless works in direction of getting a group into the bonus, the place any whistled contact will ship him to the road.
Embiid’s power will drive the Nets to ship further our bodies his manner. Extra our bodies means further probability of contact. Extra contact means further free throws if the Nets aren’t disciplined of their defensive strategy.
“You have to be ok with some of the shots that he’s going to take and some that he’s going to make,” head coach Jacque Vaughn stated on Tuesday. “The free ones we can’t give to him: the reach-ins, the tap on the arm, the sweep-through, we’ve just gotta be smart and disciplined in how we guard him.”
The Nets know guarding Embiid goes to take a complete group effort, however Vaughn appeared optimistic — and excited — concerning the particular person matchup for beginning heart Nic Claxton.
The numbers aren’t on Claxton’s aspect: Embiid is averaging 30 factors and 10 rebounds in seven video games towards Claxton vs. solely 10 factors and 6 rebounds for the Nets’ starter.
Vaughn, nevertheless, believes the expansion in Claxton’s recreation this season higher equips him for a playoff sequence towards the presumptive league MVP.
“I think he has learned how to play against different centers in the league. How they offer different challenges for him and what his advantages are,” Vaughn stated. “I talked about it the other night; you want to lean into your gifts, not your deficiencies. And he has some gifts, so he’s gonna lean into those, because that’s beneficial for us. And we’ll try to stay away from those deficiencies, and I think we’ll be ok.”
Yet nonetheless there’s room for the surprising. Nets star Mikal Bridges flashed a fast grin when requested if the group would give Embiid completely different appears on protection.
“I guess you guys will see on Saturday,” he stated.
Vaughn additionally laughed when requested if Embiid’s dimension and power would forestall the Nets from switching on protection.
“There’s no limit. There’s no limit to tenacity and sweat equity and giving what you got,” he stated. “We only got a couple guys his size, but we got some guys that are gonna play hard.”
The Nets need to hold Embiid off the free throw line, however in playoff basketball, and towards a Sixers group with different dynamic offensive weapons in former Nets star James Harden, budding combo guard Tyrese Maxey, New York native Tobias Harris and sixth man Deanthony Melton, Brooklyn may have its palms full.
Check again tomorrow for extra Nets Playoff Intel.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com