Knicks Look to Avoid Joel Embiid's Trap

The New York Knicks want to avoid falling for a Joel Embiid situation that could cost them the playoffs.

Feb 5, 2023; New York, New York, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) controls the ball / Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

A literal tall task awaits Isaiah Hartenstein and the New York Knicks.

If these are truly Hartenstein's final hours in Manhattan ... the free-agent-to-be having potentially played himself out of the Knicks' price range ... there's a chance to go out on a high note: firmly established as the team's starting center, Hartenstein will likely be in charge of controlling Joel Embiid when the Knicks open their first-round playoff series with the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday evening (6 p.m. ET, MSG/ESPN).

Hartenstein discussed the plan to neutralize Embiid as the hours dwindled toward tip-off, citing an obvious solution easier proposed than executed.

"(The key is) just making him uncomfortable," Hartenstein said in video from SNY. "I think, at the end of the day, we do a good job of show a shell, so a lot of guys are kind of loading up."

Jan 5, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) shoots / Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

Though the reigning NBA MVP has made a name for himself with his fearsome physique (7-0, 280 lbs.), Hartenstein noted that his true danger lurks at the free throw line.

"The main thing is just that he's going to seek fouls," he said. "He's the MVP, so he's going to get some calls that maybe don't go in your favor. It's doing your job, playing team defense, and don't really put your hands in. It's smart from him, why not use it? I'm not saying it's bad. If he's smart enough to do it, and we keep doing it, that's on us."

To Hartenstein's point, Embiid has averaged at least 10 free throws a game in each of the past four seasons. That includes 11.6 tries this time around, which would've led the Association if not for his lengthy medically-induced absences.

Injuries rendered Embiid ineligible for both statistical glory and a second straight MVP award, but few have defined the middle initial more purely than the 76ers' franchise face: Philadelphia posted a 31-8 record when he took the floor this season but the 16-27 mark without him necessitated a detour to the Eastern Conference Play-In round, where they narrowly doused the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.

One of those eight losses, however, was cruelly dealt by the Knicks back on Jan. 5, one of the first games starring the rebooted metropolitan roster headlined by OG Anunoby's arrival: despite 30 points, 10 rebounds ... and a dozen free throw attempts ... for Embiid, the Knicks demolished Philadelphia by a 128-92 at Wells Fargo Center. For perspective, the margin of defeat in the other seven losses with Embiid on the floor was no more than 12.

Embiid did not partake in the other three matchups due to injury. New York took two of three in that category, securing their first season series victory over the 76ers since 2015-16.

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