The turning point of the 76ers and the Heat series was Embiid's comeback, the first two games between the two sides, Embiid was absent because of the impact of concussion, Rivers had to use Jordan Jr. to replace, but Jordan Jr. performance on the court was simply disastrous, high-level statistics, when he played 31 minutes, the team's offensive efficiency was 95, defensive efficiency was 151.7, net efficiency was -56.7; when he was not on the court, the team's offensive efficiency was 111, defensive efficiency was 101.9, net efficiency was 9.1.
Even Barkley couldn't help but say, "All Jordan Jr. needs to do now is sit next to Rivers and the other bench players." He's finished, he's had a fantastic career, but now he can't play anymore, especially in today's league. In today's NBA, if you can't move, the game will be very difficult for you. Centers with insufficient mobile abilities can't play in today's NBA games, and while that's unfair to Jordan Jr., it's just the way it is. So after Embiid returned, the former All-Star Jordan Jr. also completely fell out of the rotation, and the team finally won two victories to equalize the score.
From the past two games, although Embiid is in average form, one game 18 points, 11 rebounds, one game 24 points and 11 rebounds, but his comeback has played an immediate effect, creating easier scoring opportunities for his teammates. However, the 76ers will not be easy to beat the Heat to advance, after all, they are also a team known for their defense, the past two games are just their outside hand is not good, once back home feel back, if you win the battle of King Mountain, the 76 heat will be passive. In a post-match interview, Rivers was asked "how to get to Miami with momentum," to which he replied, "Embiid will be on the plane." Embiid has done everything for us, and in this series we haven't seen his best performance yet, and I think he's going to play his best in this series. ”
It is also a clear fact that Rivers pinned his hopes on Embiid, embiid is the arrow figure of this team, but to know that Embiid's injury has not healed, how to let him play better This is the problem that Rivers needs to solve. Rivers named one person, he was the team's substitute interior reed, and when it came to Reed, Rivers said: "Reed is calm, there is no gambling defense, but we want him to play aggressive. He can do something that other no.5 can't do, and he's actually a no.4. If he plays 10 or 12 minutes, then even if he has 5 fouls I'm not worried, the first 2 games I'm worried because we really don't have other big men. Now that Embiid can play, we think he can be more aggressive. ”
If Reid is allowed to play more aggressively, the Heat should be uncomfortable. After all, their interior line is uncomfortable for Embiid, and if there is another muddy inside player like Reed, it will be difficult for the Heat to play the 76ers now.