Joel Embiid had a rough night against the Toronto Raptors, with the Philadelphia 76ers losing against the 2019 NBA champions in Tampa Bay. The Canadians earned a 110-103 win over the leaders of the Eastern Conference while ‘dominating’ Joel Embiid.
Dominating can be a big word for this case, but JoJo missed a lot of shots that could have changed the results of the game. He dropped 25 points on a 6-20 shooting while guarded by Aron Baynes and Chris Boucher, which earned the attention of the NBA community, who pointed out that Embiid had said that he was unguardable hours before taking on the Raptors. NBA Reddit was quick to point this out.
“Not hating, he’s still the MVP favorite imo. Just funny that Aron Baynes of all people, and the skinniest man in the NBA, shut him down immediately after saying how no one can stop him. Let’s see if he can get revenge on Tuesday when they play again,” u/Throwawayfor_rnba wrote on Sunday night.
After the Sixers’ 109-103 win over the Chicago Bulls, Embiid claimed he was ‘unguardable’ while talking about his skills on the court.
“That’s what makes me unguardable,” Embiid said, via ESPN. “If you’re going to crowd me, I’m going to find my way to the free-throw line or I’m going to end up at the basket. If you back up on me, I’ve got the hesi — that hesitation shot — and my favorite, just pull-up shot. [That’s] just an easy shot I always get in the post.
“So it’s hard [to stop me] when you’ve got that much. And also off the dribble just dribbling the ball and just making things happen. I’ve been adding a lot to my game, and it’s been working well.”
Even though 25 points is a very decent number, seeing the number of shots he made, that could have been different. This sparked a lot of reactions from fans who were confused that Baynes and Boucher did the job while others praised Nick Nurse for his strategy.
JoJo remains one of the best players in the league and this was just a curious note. The big man is still one of the favorites to win the MVP award this season and this type of performance won’t happen as consistently as the good ones, so this is nothing to worry about for Sixers fans.
