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Echoing the feelings he’s had throughout the season, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid called for more shots after his team’s 109-101 loss in Game 1 to the Boston Celtics on Monday. .
Embiid scored 12 points on 5 of 5 shots in the first quarter after securing a number of early opportunities in the post. But the Celtics brought in doubles teams to force turnovers and Embiid ended up with just 15 shots for the game, finishing with 26 points and 16 rebounds.
“Obviously not enough [shots]”Said Embiid.” I have to be more aggressive. Maybe we need to call other rooms but I don’t know. This is another thing we need to resolve for game 2. “
The Celtics, who are at a height disadvantage and often struggle with bruising crosses, had a game plan ready. They put pressure on the ball around the perimeter to make it harder for Embiid to pass, and then when he brought it inside, Boston was steadily bringing in the doubles on their blind side.
That led to seven Philadelphia turnovers – including three by Embiid – in the first quarter, which undermined the strong start. These issues led to coach Brett Brown refraining from calling so many post-up games for Embiid the rest of the time.
Embiid finished with five turnovers for the game and the 76ers had 18 as a team, leading Celtics to 21 points which played a major role in the result.
“It’s the double-edged sword where you have to figure out which line do you want to walk,” Brown said. “This over-appreciation of the volume of post-ups that are just smashmouth, bully-ball; if you do it all the time, it comes with a certain level of punishment if you’re not careful.”
It’s been a routine back and forth with the 76ers for months. When the team arrived for the resumption, Embiid announced that he plans to be more assertive in the demanding touches. Meanwhile, during practice leading up to the ranking matches, Brown held a daily training camp where Embiid was drilled in managing doubles teams to prepare him for this challenge.
With All-Star Ben Simmons out for the season with knee surgery, there are hopes that Embiid can carry the 76ers with huge performances against the Celtics. But while the numbers looked correct on Monday, both aspects of the game plan were missing.
“I have to do more. I have a job to do, carry us,” Embiid said. “I’m going to need the help of my teammates, but I have to do more. I have to take more shots, I have to be more aggressive, I have to help my teammates.”
The Celtics suffered a setback when forward Gordon Hayward left the game late in the fourth quarter with a sprained right ankle. He was already suffering from swelling and was heading for an MRI on Monday evening. If the injury causes Hayward to miss time, the already skinny Celtics could be more vulnerable.
Brown adopted an optimistic outlook despite being late in the series.
“You can’t downplay the fact that the loss stinks,” Brown said. “But I feel like there are answers to the questions why.”
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