Warriors’ Steve Kerr compared Joel Embiid to plays like Shaq, Patrick Ewing
The Golden State Warriors suffered their fifth loss of the season to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. They had a rough kickoff to their road trip on the East Coast, one that should get easy following their meeting with last season’s top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Golden State can blame several things for their loss. The team’s bench did little in relationship to Philadelphia’s second unit. At the same time, two-time MVP Stephen Curry shot 6-for-20 from the field and just 3-for-14 from deep.
The Golden State Warriors lost to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, and head coach Steve Kerr praised Sixers big man Joel Embiid following the defeat.
However, at the same time, it might not have been what the Warriors did poorly but rather what Philadelphia did well. They executed their game plan, shutting down Curry and hammering the ball into Joel Emiid in the paint.
Kerr had high praise for Embiid, per the Inquirer’s Keith Pompey.
"“Playing against Joel is like going into a time machine,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s like playing against Patrick Ewing or Shaq or Hakeem Olajuwon. It’s a low-post game. He will step up and shoot threes and run some DHOs [dribble handoffs] and he’s good with that,” Kerr."
Embiid had a huge late-game And-1 that basically sealed the deal, but additionally to that, Embiid put up 26 points.
His game-high 26 points were accompanied by a team-high 4 assists and 2 steals. That said, those 26 points were mainly made up of his 11 free throws. He finished 11-for-11 from the free-throw line.
It was a good game from Embiid. While not his best, he did show that dominance in the low block that Kerr that talking about. While he’s no Shaq, Kerr even notes that three-point shot that helps make Embiid so lethal.
The 7-foot Embiid is averaging 24.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. He also has a career-high 4.2 assists per game.
An MVP finalist along with Curry a season ago, Embiid has again been terrific, but he’s not quite at those MVP-level numbers this season. However, as long as he stays healthy, his long-term outlook could put his career among the greats.
Next. Top 30 Golden State Warriors players in franchise history. dark
At least Steve Kerr clearly thinks so.