As a huge Wizards fan, there was one team I didn’t want the Wizards to play in the first round of the NBA playoffs. The Philadelphia 76ers. The Wizards have played fantastic against other high-seeded teams this season, just not against this team. The main reason being because of one player on that team: Joel Embiid.
Embiid dominates in every game he plays, and Wizards just can’t seem to stop him. So, what was Wizard’s Coach Scott Brooks’ plan? He thought it would be a great idea to double team him; that is, putting two defenders on him while leaving another player open, which doesn’t work. Why? Because Embiid still beat our double teaming and drew fouls out of them. Adding to that is the other player left unguarded and open to shoot threes. Another problem is the 76ers have taller players than the Wizards. This comes into play with how many offensive rebounds the 76ers get on the Wizards, which then lead to second-chance points.
Also, the 76ers defense has been so effective against the Wizards that the Wizards have struggled to score. As a result, the 76ers get in transition and set up a play against the Wizards because the defense isn’t set. In my opinion, the best chance the Wizards have to win a game against the 76ers is to not double team Embiid and just live with him making shots because he will miss some, and then the Wizards could get the offensive rebound and make a three-pointer instead. Hopefully, with their season coming to an end, the Wizards will re-evaluate and make the right adjustments for the upcoming season.
