Sixers feel comfortable having Joel Embiid go 1-on-1 with Marc Gasol
As the Philadelphia 76ers head into a big matchup with LeBron James and the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, most people would begin focusing on a Ben Simmons vs. James matchup. Or perhaps Joel Embiid taking on Anthony Davis.
However, there has been one player who has constantly gotten the better of Embiid in the past and that has been Marc Gasol who is in his first season in Los Angeles after spending the last few seasons with the Toronto Raptors.
Embiid is building an MVP case, but he is averaging only 10.6 points in eight regular-season matchups with Gasol, and Embiid went scoreless in a game against him on 0-for-11 shooting when he played for the Raptors in the 2019-20 season. Overall, Embiid then shot just 1-for-16 against Gasol in the 2019-20 season per NBA Stats.
Despite Embiid’s history of struggles against Gasol, coach Doc Rivers feels comfortable having Embiid go up against the veteran big man.
“I think I’m very comfortable with Joel going up against anyone,” said Rivers. “Obviously, a lot of that was Toronto did a lot of trapping and the Lakers may do that as well. I think the way we spread the floor and space the floor, if that does happen, I think we’ll get great shots. If you give it to Joel one-on-one I’ll take Joel one-on-one in the post against anyone with zero concern.”
The Sixers are in a better position to help Embiid now that they have guys such as Seth Curry and Danny Green around him and Tobias Harris continues to shoot the ball well, so it will be interesting to see how Embiid attacks Gasol on Wednesday.
Embiid has also done a terrific job of passing out of double teams so if the Lakers do send waves of defenders as Toronto did, the big fella has to be able to show some growth and be able to attack it without blinking an eye.
“I look at every game as a game of growth,” Rivers added. “The game of measuring where you’re at right now and not necessarily because you’re playing the Lakers, more because we’re playing an NBA game and at this point where you’re at, how far you’re behind because of all this stuff that has happened?”
The Sixers and the Lakers tipoff at 7:30 p.m. EST from Wells Fargo Center.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
