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Tim BontempsESPN
INSIDE MCALISTER FIELDHOOUSE All eyes are on the conversation between The Citadel’s Charleston campus, South Carolina. Joel Embiid And P.J. Tucker.
The new trainees arrived at training camp for the second day in a row in late September. Philadelphia 76ers The discussion about basketball tactics was lively and long between teammates. Today’s topics include Tucker and the Miami Heat Embiid was suffocated in the post during last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals.
Tucker gestures at how he faced Embiid on the court — making his life difficult before he got the ball — and the ways Embiid could respond.
“Every day [we work on] Tucker explained that there are many ways to stop him from doing what he does. “And me guarding he now and trying to help his out, understand what people want to accomplish, that’s what it all about.
“It’s knowing it, and being prepared for everything.”
Tucker isn’t the only one. The 76ers have been trying to maximize Embiid’s prime for the last several years in hopes of deep playoff runs. However, each time flawed roster constructions prevented the breakthrough that usually follows a perennial MVP finalist.
Embiid’s final doomed relationship with was Ben SimmonsThe 76ers built an offense that allowed pick-and-rolls, which are the lifeblood of the modern NBA, to be rare.
The disastrous, one-year-long affair with a fellow big man was fatal Al HorfordEmbiid’s favorite player for many years. Boston Celtics And gave him almost as many as a fellow teammate.
Over the years, there have been many one-way players. Matisse Thybulle And Seth Curry to Marco Belinelli and T.J. McConnellThese players have been a part of many regular-season wins, but they are also the types of targets that Eastern Conference playoff teams regularly exploit.
The 76ers are determined to change that this summer. They signed superstar and elite pick&roll partner James Harden Tucker and Associates are available at a significant discount. Danuel House Jr., two tough defenders that can take down open 3-pointers.
Philly trades injured guard Danny Green A first-round choice to the Memphis Grizzlies For De’Anthony MeltonThe addition of a high-octane perimeter player to the roster, which was lacking them last year.
Philadelphia enters its inaugural full season with one if the best pick and roll tandems in league. Philadelphia also has quality 3-point shooting to allow Embiid enough space to play and enough defenders to attack opposing players.
It all adds up to a team that, despite Tuesday’s rocky impression, the 76ers are stronger, more balanced, and more constructed around their 7 foot anchor than any time in The Process era.
Tucker stated that there are no weak links around Tucker’s horn. Tucker said, “You want it to be.” [pick on] somebody? Go ahead. We have everything.”
SIMPLY BREAKING THOUGH Embiid is humbled to be invited to the East finals, a feat that the 76ers have not achieved in over 20 years.
“The whole notion that you get to the conference finals or the finals doesn’t really matter,” Embiid declared. “It doesn’t really matter what you lose if you don’t win it all. This makes it worse, because you feel like you wasted your time.
“Congratulations, you made the conference finals. Congratulations! You made it to the Finals. Did you win anything?” Nope.”
Untimely injuries to Embiid may be responsible for some of those failures, including an orbital fracture sustained in a collision with a 2018 teammate and facial fractures as well as thumb and thumb injuries last spring. One playoff loss can be attributed on the Toronto Raptors And Kawhi Leonard, whose miracle four-bounce buzzer-beater in Game 7 The 76ers were stunned in the East semifinals of 2019.
A poor design is responsible for a lot of the problems. This includes the awkward matches with Simmons and Horford, too many limited roles, or the decision to leave. Jimmy Butler After that devastating loss to the Raptors.
Philadelphia’s playoff exit was inevitable, regardless of the formula. Since his hire by the franchise two-years ago, Daryl Morey has been the president of basketball operations. His mission is to change the fit around Embiid and, in turn, change the 76ers’ playoff fortune.
After the collapse against Atlanta Hawks After Simmons’s trade request in 2021, Morey waited to see if Simmons would accept it before finally moving forward with the Simmons-Harden trade in the last hours of the February trade deadline.
It wasn’t long before the stars found their chemistry.
Harden and Embiid were second in pick-and roll activity after the All Star break. Only the Hawks had more. Trae Young And Clint Capela Accounting for more. Philadelphia’s star tandem averaged 1.15 points per direct pick on those plays, per ESPN’s Stats & Information research — the fifth-best mark among the 39 pairings that ran at least 150 such plays.
Although Harden’s arrival helped raise Philadelphia’s ceiling it was not enough to alter the team’s playoff fate. Harden, who has famously failed to make it in multiple playoffs, had his struggles playing for the 76ers. He was 4-for-9 in Philadelphia’s Game 6 loss at Miami last season.
Morey also identified another problem: Rivers, the 76ers coach, was being held back by too many specialists around his stars.
“[What] We saw this in the playoffs, Morey stated. “Like Doc having to go to the bench, it was choosing between all offense, all defense, or all offense.
“That becomes very difficult in the playoffs.”
It was clear, however, that Morey and Embiid were looking for a similar solution. Enter Tucker, a versatile 3-and-3-D wing with lockdown capabilities who was part of the Houston Rockets Morey and Harden remained friends for many seasons. After the Game 6 defeat, Embiid mentioned that he’d never played alongside someone like Tucker, citing Tucker’s defensive energy and toughness.
Thybulle was replaced by Tucker Melton and House Shake Milton And Furkan Korkmaz Three players who saw significant time during the playoffs — Philadelphia’s roster.
“I believe Joel set the tone extremely helpfully for my negotiations. [with Tucker]Morey laughed. “Asking a specific player… I ask all future 76ers please not do that.”
EMBIID HAS ECHOED The same response was offered when referring back to the hype surrounding 76ers’ revamped roster leading up to the season.
“We have a long road ahead of us.”
Tuesday was when Philadelphia officially opened its season. 126-117 loss Embiid’s cautionary words proved prophetic in TD Garden as the Celtics defended East champion.
The Celtics are playing without an injured starting center Robert Williams IIIThe 76ers were defeated by, thanks to their smaller rosters. Boston beat Philadelphia 24-2 in fast-break points. This disparity was so significant that Embiid double checked it on the box score during his postgame conference.
“It starts defensively,” Embiid said. It’s really all about defense. We scored, whatever it was, 117 [points]We weren’t good offensively today.
“We didn’t get any stops throughout the night. This is where it all starts. We have the potential. However, we must work hard and be there for each other.
There Were There were a few moments of optimism in Philadelphia and Embiid. Even with elite defenders Boston has to offer, such as the Defensive Player Award winner Marcus Smart Harden and Embiid were successful in the pick-and roll.
Harden dropped a pocket pass to Embiid late in the second quarter. Embiid caught it and finished the game with a fouling Celtics forward Noah Vonleh. Harden feigned another play in the third quarter. He walked around another screen and snuck up on the defense to give up a wide-open floating.
Harden postgame said, “We need to find ways to get in that action more.”
Embiid lamented the ball sticking too often and the 76ers falling back into old habits. Second Spectrum reported that Philadelphia’s average touch time against Boston was 3.5 seconds. This is the third-highest score in a single game since last season.
Embiid’s and the 76ers’ Tuesday night performance was not good, but he and the Celtics stars were still there. Jayson Tatum And Jaylen Brown They all shared the same message: It was only the first of 82 games.
Although it was the first of 82 in a Celtics-trained core, it was the first regular season action for Philadelphia’s newly restructured roster. Embiid stated that only time can close this experience gap.
Embiid commented that “that’s a group that just got to the Finals and they’ve known each other for so many decades.” “We still felt young, with a lot new guys trying find the right fit.
“We’ll be fine.”