Doc Rivers discusses Joel Embiid’s talent, passing out of double teams
Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid was already one of the most talented players in the league, and everybody knew that. For coach Doc Rivers, seeing it up close and personal has been something else.
Embiid produced another terrific performance on Wednesday night, putting up 42 points on 19 shots while pulling down 10 rebounds in a win over the Boston Celtics. It was another terrific performance in an impressive start to the 2020-21 season for him.
The big man was terrific in passing out of the double teams, and he responded well to them in the win. Boston is a team that historically gives him a lot of trouble with the waves of defenders they send at him, but he responded well in this one.
“I love how he played,” said Rivers. “He kinda let it come to him, with 40 that’s hard to do, but every time they double-teamed, he made the pass. Every time they didn’t, he attacked. I thought early on, they wanted to double team, we got those two 3s off of his passes, they get out of it. He started scoring, they double team again, we get another 3. I thought that kind of balanced the team, I love that he’s trusting that.”
As Rivers has the chance to coach the big fella, he sees how truly talented he is at his position.
“I don’t know if surprised is the right word,” the coach said of Embiid. “He’s just more talented than even I knew. I knew he was extremely talented, but he has so many more gifts off the dribble. He can pick his spot. One of his weak points, I guess, is post passing, and he’s been phenomenal in that this year. He’s tough to guard.”
Rivers recently made a change to the Sixers offense by having Embiid set up in the middle of the floor in what the team calls a delay action. That has allowed the big fella to make quicker reads and to attack the double teams a little easier. He only had two assists, but that’s because the Celtics backed off the doubles quickly after he found open shooters.
“Playing out of delay actions is good for me because how are you going to double that?” Embiid asked. “It’s hard to double from the middle of the floor, and if you double, we got way too many good shooters for me to kick it out and make the shot. There’s a lot of freedom; I get to be myself in that offense. It’s not just ‘OK, let’s dump it down to Jo and let him figure it out.’ I can attack them in a different style and I’m just taking advantage of it and it’s been working well. It’s hard to guard.”
Another tactic Rivers has installed in Philadelphia has been the movement around Embiid. Guys are not stationary in his offense and the player movement has allowed the Sixers to have success offensively. Also, an upgrade in the shooting surrounding him allows him to make the right reads and have trust in his teammates.
“One thing I can see from him, he’s trusting guys on the team more on offense and kicking it out and just letting it come to him,” said Tobias Harris. “That only opens up the game for him and he knows that, and he’s doing a great job of playing off of other teammates out there to make the game easier for him to be productive.”
Embiid will have to continue this strong play as the season continues and he will get another shot at the Celtics on Friday.
