Getty Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Brooklyn Nets’ game plan is just fine according to Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid.
“They didn’t change their strategy,” Embiid said via NBA Interviews after the Sixers’ 96-84 victory on April 17.
“Didn’t work in the first game, and they came back firing double, triple teams all over the place. And once again, we did take advantage of it. … You’re not going to give the [NBA’s] best three-point shooting team that many looks without my guys making those shots. So I hope they keep doing it. We’re going to keep making the right plays and knocking down those shots.
The Nets held Embiid to just 20 points, even “better” than they did against him in Game 1 when he had 26 points. But he was able to haul in 19 rebounds helping him to also dish out seven assists to the 76ers’ shooters who knocked down just 11-of-35 triples, two fewer than the Nets who got up 42 attempts from beyond the arc.
But they also got a boost from Tyrese Maxey who led all scorers with 33 points on the strength of knocking down 6-of-13 triples.
“[James] Harden, Embiid – kept them in check,” Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said via the YES Network on YouTube. “Offensive rebounds from P.J. [Tucker], kept that in check. Give credit for Maxey tonight.”
Vaughn credited Maxey while pleading for anyone on his team to follow suit.
“Do we need some people to step up at home? Yes, we do,” Vaughn asked and answered. “I’ll take all of them. Anyone you want to sign up, put them on the list, I’ll check that thing off. We need everybody to show up and be ready to play.”
Perhaps it is Vaughn who needs to step up.
Joel Embiid Compares Jacque Vaughn to Raptors’ Nick Nurse
“I saw after the last game they took the [Toronto Raptors head coach] ]Nick Nurse route of begging for free throws and calling out the referees,” Embiid said referring to Vaughn’s persistence in addressing what he felt were a slew of missed calls on the likely MVP winner in Game 1.
Jacque Vaughn on referees: “Hopefully they’ll be calling travel and three seconds on the big fella (Joel Embiid) next game. So I’ll be looking forward to that.”
“Then they come out and they got a lot of calls, which is I guess good for them,” Embiid continued.
That’s when Embiid, known for his pointed comments and trolls, delivered a haymaker.
“What happened in the second half was we just figured out what worked,” he said. “And we just kept doing it over, and over, and over. And they stuck to their gameplan, they didn’t make any adjustments, and we just figured that and just kept playing together.”
Despite big man Nic Claxton calling for the Nets to play more man-to-man, echoing the same concerns as forward Cameron Johnson about rebounds and open shooters, the Nets held firm.
Nets Continue to Lose The Number Game
In this game, the Nets were outscored 18-0 in second-chance points, 13-6 in fastbreak points, and 46-22 in paint points. They did win the turnover battle with eight to 19 for the Sixers (eight by Embiid) but they were on the wrong side of the most important stat – the win column – falling into a 2-0 hole that is very foreboding.
Teams that fall behind 2-0 have gone on to win the series just 7.2% of the time, per Land Of Basketball.
The Sixers went up 2-0 on the Nets. The Sixers have won 14 of 15 playoff series when they go up 2-0 and NBA teams have won 92% of the series
Add to that they are winless in five tries now against the 76ers and things are snowballing.