The feeling of the sacrifice in the first three sections of Tutu G6 ushered in a continuous retaliatory rebound, the heat spread from the vest, the limbs were full of energy, and the raised hand was a series of critical hits. With 51 points, the scoring record set much faster than expected, Tatum made history, earned respect and gave a renewed thumbs up to those who no longer expected from him.
Of course, the focus may be on the other side.
The 76ers were out in a way that wasn't surprising. Embiid + Harden + Rivers, the three-person passive attribute overlay seems to have doomed the outcome. But for fans who have become accustomed to Harden's slump, two unexpected outbursts are enough to calm the mood. Rivers' hiring is certainly problematic, and when compared horizontally, it is only a coaching performance that is not unusual in this year's playoffs, and his birthday may have a greater negative effect than the use of personnel.
Embiid is clearly the one that is more disappointing. I'm not saying that Embiid has to lead the team to beat the Celtics to be satisfactory, it's not that demanding of him. Before G6, I thought Embiid was starting to approach the ideal state I envisioned at the start of the regular season:
Defensive hard - although it is still not perfect, compared to the same period last year, Embiid's basket protection and movement speed are online, and this end of the series in Horford's inaccurate hand is due to contribute;
Be part rather than all – Embiid can play a more restraining role in blocking than scoring king mode, helping other main attackers play a more consistent offense, which will be smoother than his curves in one quarter, two quarters stronger, three quarters weak, and four quarters. While Embiid is still not the key sir, at least the 76ers did, and the threat came from more than one place, making it harder for the Celtics to catch the point. At one point, I even thought the 76ers were going to be this year.
This round of Embiid, even if G6 did not show MVP-level dominance before, it also melted the value of a top strategic center into the game.
What happened to the G6?
Mazura played "Fighting Chess" and ate Tucker with Lowe to eliminate the 76ers' midfield offense.
After the G6 match, Embiid said he couldn't get the ball at a crucial moment. Embiid couldn't get the ball not because Harden didn't want to give it, but because Harden really couldn't observe the opportunities that could be found in the middle from the Celtics' defensive strategy in the bottom corner - the empty space was in the bottom corner. Harden tried to split the ball on both wings, and the G6G7 was the two games in which the 76ers had the highest three-point ratio in the bottom corner of the series. But the 76ers couldn't make it, and it became an endless cycle.
This is not the only cause of death for the 76ers. Embiid gave the 76ers' defeat a more distinctive personality, and he took the initiative to cast a shadow over the prospect of a clunky center playing low in a way that was "more like a behemoth eliminated by the times." Either he was caught in the bag, or he failed to single Horford, all the evolved game content was missing, and Embiid seemed to be angry with Harden:
"Why didn't G6 call me? Is it a win to call me? ”
"Then try it, I'll call you, do you see if you can score?"
If your space is blocked to the point where it is difficult to dismantle, the low position will not be much better. Tucker hit three three-pointers in the first quarter, and the determination and crosshairs to respond to the Green Army's strategy were enough, but it could not shake the Green Army's strategy in the slightest, and Lowe was still letting him go. Rivers made adjustments, and he ended up leaning more toward Melton, who believed in theoretical "offensive and defensive balance" over Tucker's Mann night. As a result, Melton continued the G6 form and shot worse than Tucker. Moreover, because when Melton was present, Lao Li would take him to defend Tatum, and he and Tatum were two models apart, and were continuously eaten, which also became the beginning of Tatum's cultivation of feeling.
Why not use Niang?
Maybe Lao Li will say that Nion is targeted for a few more minutes, and you will ask me why I use Niang.
It's true that the 76ers don't have a perfect 5th-man plan, so not only do they break through space congestion in the middle, but the Horfords also dare to stick tighter when they defend Embiid's one-on-one, making Embiid's jump shot more difficult. It can be said that Embiid has completely lost everything.
A pot of space again?
One Sidi, one more Tucker, and finally an effect?
Isn't Melton a shooter who shot 6.7 three-pointers per 36 minutes in the regular season and shot 39 percent from the field? He may not be able to shoot on the field, and he cannot shake the determination of the Green Army to assist in defense, at this time, what are you going to do?
Space is a problem, space can't carry all the pots. With the Celtics' G6G7, even if the 76ers put a secondary attacker who can shoot and hold the ball in point 5, Mazura will still bet on Rowe's defense of Harris - before you Embiid can punish me quickly and accurately enough, I will bet on your mistakes and mistakes.
Embiid still hasn't developed a sense of "play or pass quickly" gameplay, which is similar to Harden in the past. The difference is that Harden can really throw the ball in the final seconds, he just can't break the Lakers' commotion to change defenses to delay the pinch shot, and Embiid can't even break the first level of the pinch shot.
For superstars, the playoffs are not so complicated, turning over and over is one thing:
How to hit the opponent to pinch you;
After the opponent pinch you, come up with a response that makes the pinch ineffective;
In the end, the dilemma of not clamping opponents and not clamping is not realized.
The response can be a good shot with a good teammate environment, including a strong finishing partner and a projection resource around the body. This logic doesn't quite work for Embiid, and even with Harden, there are doubts, because the player who holds the ball to attract the pinch and the player responsible for delivering opportunities to the open space are not alone, and the addition of formalities increases the risk, not to mention the 76ers' projection resources are not so perfect.
The other logic is based on no ball. The so-called no-ball here does not mean having Embiidra stand in the bottom corner - this is the no-ball of the puzzle, not the core no-ball. The core's no-ball is essentially one thing - the core can receive the ball in the dessert area, and after receiving the ball, it can forcibly finish the round before the pinch arrives. Curry's quick start of catching after running, the curling cut of thick eyebrows, and Jokic's multiple options for covering to the free throw line are different ways, but they are essentially a purpose.
What is Embiid's corresponding skill?
The 76ers got Harden, who can feed the ball, actually gave some answers - Embiid dismantled to the middle of the free throw line, which can indeed play production when Embiid shoots in a tight stop. And this set of games is the same logic as Embiid's transformation of his technique into a swingman at the guard - can create a lot of shots in the area above the free throw line, so that Embiid can ram production without going low.
If Embiid is in a suffocating top defensive team, his style of play has merit - a long two-point jump shot can be described as a constipation game YYDS.
But Embiid is not on that team, and there are questions about whether he can build that kind of team around him. After G6 Mazura brought Lowe to the starting lineup against Tucker, did Embiid really use Lowe to drag space to play equal defensive value? If he did, Mazura would have been blocked by choosing to fight defense, but the reality is that Tatum G6 faced Embiid in the fourth quarter to shoot three points to kill the game, and G7 even looked for Embiid in a large number of military training, if so, what is the difference between Embiid and Jokic on the defensive end?
In the playoffs of past few years, Embiid has only proven that he is a better basket keeper than Jokic against some teams with greater offensive limitations. But he also clearly can't protect against the five-way lineup, can't prevent the ball throwing gods, and after the offensive load overload and the said injury in consecutive playoff games, some games will even send a defense that breaks through the lower limit.
Around Embiid, you can build a team that defends between good and good, but has playoff limitations. Some series, you need to rely on offense to play back, and when you talk about offensive games, Durant and Booker have just proved that only epic dry pulls, in the high-end offensive game will also be humble, don't talk about Embiid's hand "bullish, supergod not full". In this year's playoffs, Embiid still has a 50% crosshair in the long two regions, but the basket, near the basket, and three-point line are all inaccurate, and you won't be surprised by these mismatches:
He wasn't good at three-pointers;
Does he have the ability to rely on his size and athleticism to catch the ball frequently near the basket and finish quickly? He did not, not even strongly;
He played low and could not predict the direction of his opponent's pinch, and then relied on the opposite turn to complete the shot, and the turnover jumper also degraded too much. For the most part, he chose to turn the face basket to start. He doesn't have enough ball protection and one-handed ball skills to ensure that he turns forward to a position where he can hook safely. He has never been a near-basket god, and this part of the content is perennially exposed in the playoffs;
Embiid is not a good basket and near-basket finisher, and the front board contribution is limited, which would have been the most special and biggest advantage of the center offensive end over other positions. He's also not really a "space center" either, and his three-point shoots are not a threat. Embiid's advantage is that he has a variety of long-two-point skills that ordinary centers can't handle, which really kills Lisa, the problem is that this area is a typical "production area" that solves the problem of constipation, and the 76ers have no shortage of manpower to develop offense, not to mention that building a team around Embiid can't guarantee a high-end series to make opponents constipated.
The 76ers found a way to play that made it easier for Embiid to compete for MVP, and finally, Embiid used this set of postmodern play to get the coveted MVP trophy. But Embiid gradually developed a set of "championship logic paradoxes", he is "strong", but not strong in helping the team win the series. After half of the dream has been realized, how to achieve the other half requires some brainstorming and some more work. He is no longer a teenager who believes in the process, but at an age where he needs to think more seriously about the future. Time is fast, just a few years, drag it out again, I am afraid that what I have to think about is how to become someone else's side dish.