Joel Embiid battles a long playoff curse against Boston, seeking redemption and a breakthrough moment to finally vanquish a persistent playoff tormentor.
Joel Embiid’s message ahead of Game 7 sounded like more than a breakdown of a series and the impending result.
“I’ve been playing these guys for so long. I’m tired of losing to them. We have a chance to accomplish something special,” he said, and that frustration feels warranted.
Embiid has spent much of his career getting knocked around by the Boston Celtics, with a 5-13 playoff record against them and three playoff series losses. To go back even further, the last time the Philadelphia 76ers eliminated the Celtics in the playoffs was in 1982. Embiid is hardly the first Sixers icon to be tormented by the 18-time champions.
That is what makes this moment matter. Embiid has been beaten by Boston time and time again when it looked like the Sixers were primed to make deep playoff runs.
He is yet another matchup with them, and this time, he hopes to come out on top with teammates such as Tyrese Maxey and Paul George backing him up. Previously, he had players such as James Harden and Ben Simmons backing him, but it wasn't enough to get the job done.
The encouraging part for Philadelphia is that Embiid has been playing well enough to give the team a real chance at pulling off an upset. In the Game 5 win that kept the Sixers alive, he scored 33 points and added eight assists, taking over the second half and getting to whatever spot he wanted to.
While he wasn't as good in Game 6, his gravity was real and opened up opportunities for his teammates.
That matters because Embiid’s presence changes Philadelphia’s identity when he is on the court. Without him, the Sixers lean much more heavily on guard creation and pace. With him, they become a slower, more physical half-court team that can generate good shots late in the clock and force Boston's frontcourt to stay in front of him. The former MVP is hoping he can get the monkey off his back and finally overcome a Celtics team that has haunted him throughout his whole career.
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Wes Dixon is a contributing writer to 76ersRoundtable. He can be reached at dixonwesley286@gmail.com.