On May 7, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs Eastern Conference Semifinals G3, 76ers returned home to meet the Heat. For the 76ers, who are 2-0 behind in the big score, this is a game that must be won, and once the series is lost, it will completely lose suspense, and no team in NBA history can complete the reversal in a 0-3 situation. The 76ers and Embiid clearly knew the importance of the game, so Embiid overcame all odds to return with injury and eventually led the team to beat the Heat 99-79, rewriting the big score to 1-2.
The famous Barkley once commented after the 76ers lost the G2 game: "One thing sucks, height is a weakness of the Heat, but Adebayo played an incredible performance, but he didn't have any chance against Embiid. Embiid's absence prevented us from accurately measuring how good the Heat were, and that's where the series feels bad. ”
Thankfully, Embiid made a timely comeback at G3, restoring the way the series should have been. His comeback boosted the morale of the 76ers, the team no longer had any shortcomings in the offensive and defensive system, and the situation of the game also changed.
In the first two meetings, the Heat chased after Jordan Jr., bullying Uncle Huang's old and weak, playing the 76ers defensive deformity, and could only defend the restricted area, resulting in the outside line being shot through. Adebayor faced the 76ers' weak interior line, like a giant spirit, G1 efficiently cut 24 points and 12 rebounds; G2 efficiently scored 23 points and 9 rebounds.
However, after Embiid's comeback, Adebayor was completely lost, scoring 9 points and 3 rebounds on only 2 of 9 shots, playing Jordan Jr.'s stats, and judging two with the previous 2 games. This is the most intuitive embodiment of Embiid's role, the defensive end is just standing there is very scary, so that the opposite All-Star center is like stealth!
You must know that the Heat have been criticized for their lack of continuity in their offense and rely on impact baskets. Previously, facing the 76ers who guarded the inside line of Jordan Jr. and Reed Town, the Heat could go back and forth like no man's land, but today in the face of MVP candidate Embiid, the Heat were struggling, and they caught up with the cold and lifeless outside the team.
The above is just embiid's value on the defensive end, on the offensive end as the scoring king this season, he is also a bug-like existence, and no one in the Heat can match him. Embiid's free throw line with the ball and the basket is almost unsolvable, whether it is Adebayo or Dedmund, the single defense is white, and the Heat can only pinch the shot. And Embiid can also do a strategy to coordinate teammates in the face of the pinch, liberating the whole team's offense, and today the 76ers three-pointers feel warmed up, 16 of 33 shots, which is directly related to Embiid's comeback. In addition, the pressure on Harden has also been greatly reduced, and the dual core drives each other to reduce the burden, which is the most frightening place for the 76ers.
Embiid's all-round influence on both ends of the attack and defense has directly changed the trend of the game, greatly increasing the team's fault tolerance rate and reducing the difficulty of the game. Even if Harden only scored 2 points in the second half today, the 76ers can still rely on the overall play, steady defense to stabilize the situation, and finally harvested a big victory.
After the game, the 76ers coach praised Embiid, and even the Heat coach did not hesitate to praise Embiid. Harden said the team needs Embiid, he comes back and completes the mission, and his presence itself will bring energy to the team. Green also praised Embeid's influence on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, even if he is not 100% in form, but as long as he is on the field, he can make the team better.
For the 76ers, they temporarily lifted the crisis and Embiid's comeback gave the team back confidence, but they are still behind and they still need to carry enough urgency to guard the home court and fight for the equaliser.