“It was difficult to watch.' For all the defensive good will the Raptors had built in these playoffs, it took Joel Embiid and Co. just one night to make it all go away. (via ArdenZwelling)
No one moves a centimetre. They’re tableaued. The Raptors coaches and players just stare blankly ahead, like frozen background scenery in a frenzied world of commotion. They all know what’s about to happen as they sit there during the fourth quarter, which is strongly informed by what’s been happening through the first three. And they can’t do anything about it.
A monumental moment like that against a demoralized team doesn’t come out of nowhere. It’s the result of a half-hour or so of game time in which a team’s resolve is stripped away one play at a time. For all the defensive good will the Raptors had built in these playoffs, it took Embiid and Co. only a night to make it all go away.
In summing up Embiid’s night the day after, Nurse endeavoured to make a point that his team had played better defence on the Sixers centre than it may have initially seemed. They’d challenged him on some shots, they’d forced him into a few mid-range looks, they’d made him earn his points at the line.
That essentially starts and ends with Gasol, who was acquired at the trade deadline specifically for matchups like these, and who has limited Embiid practically every time they’ve played one another until Thursday. Gasolfrom the jump, and for the Raptors to stop Embiid going forward, the only hope they may have is a return to form from their starting centre, a return to poor form from Embiid and his wonky left knee, or preferably both.
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