Raptors' Nick Nurse Hopes to Play Sixers' Joel Embiid in Playoffs
Heading into this past Sunday night's game against the Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid was arguably the frontrunner for the NBA's MVP award. One of his standout performances leading up to this point was the Sixers' late December matchup at home against Toronto when Embiid put up 29 points.
Going into Sunday's game, the big man was coming off a career-high 50-point game against the Chicago Bulls. The Raptors knew that trying to shut down Embiid would be nearly impossible, but they aggressively defended throughout the full 48 minutes on Sunday and held the big man to 25 points en route to a victory.
On Tuesday night, the two teams met again. As expected, the Raptors stuck to their gameplan on Embiid and swarmed him all night long. While Toronto didn't get the same overall results they wanted as they lost to the Sixers 109-102, the Raptors felt good about how they fought against the Sixers and practically shut down Embiid.
In 36 minutes of action, Embiid drained just three of his 13 field goal attempts. Without getting to the free-throw line six times, Embiid's point total would've really taken a hit as the Raptors clearly have answers for the MVP candidate.
The Raptors might've lost Tuesday's game, but Toronto's head coach Nick Nurse clearly doesn't fear the Eastern Conference's top team at the moment. Following the matchup, Nurse praised his team for the way they play against Embiid and even went as far as saying he hopes to see Embiid and the Sixers in the playoffs this postseason.
"I mean, at least, [tonight's game] got us back in the realm of knowing we can [defend Embiid], right?" Nurse said after the game. "When you think of it, if you have to go through them, hope to God we get to see him again in the playoffs, that means we'll be there, and we'll be playing, probably playing a high-level game with a lot of meaning. And at least we know maybe we’ve got a chance to shut him down and not just say, 'Well, you know, too much Embiid there's nothing we can do.' Maybe we can [shut him down]."
The Raptors have always played well against Embiid in recent years. Over the last couple of seasons, many have chalked it up to former Raptors big man Marc Gasol simply being the four-time All-Star's kryptonite. Based on the evidence from the last two games, it seems Toronto just has Embiid's number. And because of that, they're looking forward to a possible playoff battle this spring.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_
