Wizards’ Scott Brooks Heavily Endorses Sixers Center Joel Embiid’s Game
The Philadelphia 76ers currently have a 3-0 lead over the Washington Wizards heading into Game 4 on Monday night. While Philly’s entire starting five has played excellently throughout the series, the team’s most valuable player throughout the series is unsurprisingly Joel Embiid.
When healthy, Embiid is one of the best players in the game. Clearly, there’s a reason why he’s considered an NBA MVP finalist this season after the regular season he’s had. But the dominance didn’t stop there. Ever since tipping off the first-round series against Washington, Embiid has been an unstoppable force.
And on Sunday afternoon, following Embiid’s playoff career-high 36 point performance in Game 3, Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks heavily endorsed the big man’s game with a typical, yet notable comparison.
“I was fortunate enough to play with (Hakeem) Olajuwon for almost three years,” Brooks said on Sunday. “(Joel Embiid) is doing things that I haven’t seen since. In his seventh year in the league, he’s been able to see it all now and he’s seen all the defenses, seen all the schemes, and he’s skilled. He’s a skilled, athletic, tough, high-IQ basketball player.”
Since picking up the game of basketball, Embiid has shown he’s extremely gifted athletically early on. However, being so new to it all, Embiid had a lot to learn. As Brooks explained, Embiid has seen it all at this point. With years of experience now behind him, the veteran center has earned the legendary comparisons.
“If you make a mistake, he capitalizes on it and their team does as well,” Brooks explained. “Even if you don’t make a mistake, he was making shots over our guys. He was making shots over a double team last night. Like I said, I haven’t seen anybody since Olajuwon be able to dominate a game on both ends of the floor like he does.”
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.
