Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid took one comment from Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard personally.
Joel Embiid returned for the Philadelphia 76ers' series against the Boston Celtics in Game 4 and never looked back.
In Game 4, Embiid gave the 76ers 26 points and 10 rebounds, then followed it up with 33 points and eight assists in Game 5. He had 19 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists in Game 6 and 34 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists in Game 7.
Embiid credited some of his success versus Boston to Celtics guard Payton Pritchard, who, before Embiid returned, revealed the Celtics had not game-planned for the seven-time All-Star.
"It does also help when I saw #11 on [their] team before I came back; he said they didn't care if I was playing or not, and they hadn't even adjusted the gameplan," Embiid said postgame. "I think it also helps when the other team doesn't worry about you and has some solid game plan or being prepared for you; it helps you have better games. I thank #11 for that."
Here is Pritchard's full remark about Embiid:
“If he plays, he plays, we’ll figure that out. It’s not like we’re sitting here worried if he’s playing or not… We haven’t even game-planned for him yet."
Not preparing to face one of the offensively talented big men in NBA history is a major blunder on the Celtics' part.
Boston failed to guard Embiid one-on-one the majority of the time, which led to many double teams being sent. When the second man came to help, the 2023 MVP simply hit the open man waiting for a shot on the arc. Embiid's scoring was crucial, yes, but his ability to find shooters on the perimeter was arguably just as important to the 76ers' success.
The 76ers are staring down a second-round matchup against the New York Knicks that begins Monday. If the Knicks prepared for Embiid in a similar fashion to Boston, 'The Process' should be in for another hugely productive series.
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