I’m really, really surprised the Sixers learned nothing from their series against Boston last year.
In the playoffs, the Celtics ENCOURAGED Embiid to go one on one in the post and didn’t double him at all. He had a whopping 10 post possessions per game and produced .81 PPP which is total dogshit. The opportunity cost of those possessions (threes created by Simmons) was a big reason they lost. I can’t isolate the last three games for Embiid on NBA.com, but in them, he was probably at .6 or .65 PPP.
Their best run came when Simmons was looking for shooters every possession. They can play “5 out” with Embiid since he can shoot, but they don’t. 80% of Embiid’s Value is on defense and on that end alone he’s an all-NBA player.
Embiid had 10 post possessions in the opener and produced .50 PPP, which is horrific. Maybe they’re not showing their hand, but painful to see since I hate Boston and don’t ever want them to win anything in any sport.