Joel Embiid, Sixers discuss responding to physical play from Raptors
PHILADELPHIA–In the playoffs, teams are going to make adjustments and be physical in order to set the tone and get things moving in their direction. Especially, after losing the game before.
The Toronto Raptors started Game 2 in a physical way as they were able to jump on the Philadelphia 76ers early. Fred VanVleet was knocking down triples and the Raptors took an early 11-2 lead.
They were also looking to get under the skin of Joel Embiid as he and OG Anunoby got into a shoving match and they were both hit with double technical fouls early in this one. However, Embiid responded well by scoring 19 points in the first quarter and finished with 31 for the game in a win at home.
“Going into the game, I knew what their strategy was,” said Embiid. “Especially, listening to everything that was said, and from the get-go, I really didn’t want them to set that tone. I wanted myself and us to set that tone.”
The Raptors have been doing a lot of complaining about the calls Embiid has gotten in this series so far and the big fella wanted to make sure that he set the tone early and not the Raptors. He didn’t want to give them any control.
“I picked up that first early technical foul because I felt like there was a missed call on the other end and on defense, I just wanted to make sure that the refs just let us know how physical they wanted the game to be so that’s why I went ahead and we started pushing each other,” said Embiid. “We both got techs, but I knew that was their game plan. I knew that was gonna be their adjustment, but I wanted to make sure I was the first one to bring the physicality.”
Sixers and Raptors GM2 🔥🔥🔥
Here’s Joel Embiid vs. Raptors OG Anunoby down low
— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) April 18, 2022
The Sixers were able to fight through all of that and stay composed which is key in a series such as this one. Philadelphia was able to build a lead as large as 29 and be able to come away with a win and a 2-0 lead.
“I just thought they got out to a great start at the start of the game,” said coach Doc Rivers. “We didn’t react to it. We just kept playing. Clearly, I thought they made a concerted effort. They wanted to muck the game up a little bit, get physical, and I just told our guys to play threw it. I liked our composure through all that.”
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