Joel Embiid Punctures Energetic Trail Blazers Defense

ThePortland Trail Blazersplayed their best game of the young season on Sunday evening versus thePhiladelphia 76ers. Running, defense, good passing...this game had it all. The one thing the Blazers didn’t have was reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid. The towering titan put up a stat line of 35 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, and 6 blocked shots in just 29 minutes of play. When the Blazers collapsed around Embiid, he hit open shooters for easy buckets. When they single-covered him, well...12-22 shooting, 2-4 from distance tells the story. That’s how the Sixers turned a competitive first half into a second half blowout, eventually winning 126-98. Shaedon Sharpe scored 20 on 7-13 shooting to lead the Blazers. Malcolm Brogdon added 18 off the bench, Jerami Grant 17. Deandre Ayton, Portland’s own star center, played only 21 minutes, scoring 7 on 3-7 shooting with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, a block, and 3 personal fouls in that span.

First Quarter

The opening minutes of this contest featured the Blazers playing closer to their ideal than they’ve managed at any point so far this year. They fed the ball to Jerami Grant driving down the lane, kept two men on Joel Embiid without sacrificing containment, even forced a turnover and got it out for a Scoot Henderson acceleration layup that had the Philly crowd in awe. Their 6-2 lead after two minutes of play seems paltry, but how often have they led this season?

Turnovers and fouls committed caught up to them after that. A couple of Tyrese Maxey threes put Portland’s lead in the rear-view mirror. By then Philadelphia was running full-speed on offense. The Sixers led 12-6 after four minutes of play, inverting the first two and then some.

To their credit, the Blazers didn’t fold. Malcolm Brogdon came in and hit a couple shots. He also assisted nicely to Deandre Ayton for a gimme. Portland kept Philly’s lead between 4-6 for a few minutes despite running a serious deficit at the foul line.

Ayton checked out for the final 3:30 of the first period but Embiid stayed in. That left Portland with a serious size disadvantage. Embiid dunked, blocked, and overshadowed everyone. Almost instantly, Philadelphia took a double-digit lead. They maintained most of it for a 36-28 lead after one.

Second Quarter

Portland’s bench reprised the running start from the opening minutes of the game at the top of the second quarter. Jabari Walker and Toumani Camara got active. The Blazers had a couple of multi-man break opportunities. They also efforted their way into offensive rebounds. When Camara hit Walker for an and-one layup with 9:29 remaining, Portland crawled within 38-36.

Camara and Walker led the charge through the next few minutes as well, as Portland proved a half-step quicker to the ball in nearly every instance. Aggressive defense forced turnovers that led to successful run-outs.

Ayton checked in while Embiid sat, a role-reversal from the end of the first. Now Portland’s center dominated, scoring and passing over smaller players as if he was unopposed. Shaedon Sharpe added a couple of nifty drives. Portland led by 1, 47-46, when Embiid checked back in at the 5:35 mark.

Jerami Grant attacked the bucket consistently throughout the first half, but it really showed in the closing minutes of the second. Grant forced Philly back on their heels even in the halfcourt with his quick first step. With Embiid on the floor, the Blazers actually increased their lead to 6 over the next couple minutes.

The final bit of the second period became a tug-o-war between Embiid and the entire Blazers squad. Philly kept going to the MVP inside. He drew fouls when he couldn’t convert. One of those was on Ayton, who then had to sit. That recreated the disaster from the end of the first. Embiid scoring 10 in a row prevented Portland from maintaining their lead.

To their credit, though, the Blazers kept passing the ball, working for wide open perimeter looks or quick drives on offense. They scored enough to keep the tally balanced despite Embid going ham. At least for a while, that is. All the offensive rebounds and Jerami Grant aggression in the world couldn’t stop the Philly Menace forever. Grant had 15 at the half. but Philadelphia still led 66-60. Embiid had 24 points and 9 rebounds.

Third Quarter

Portland’s defense remained active as the second half began, but Philadelphia had game planned in the locker room how to counter. They went straight to Embiid, waiting for the Blazers to collapse on him. He simply passed over the defense to wide-open shooters. Three-point shots for Philly took their lead to 13, at 77-64 by the 8:22 mark, forcing Portland to call timeout and try to regroup.

It didn’t really work. Ayton missed a couple of easy shots. The Blazers started turning it over against suddenly-energetic Sixers defenders. Meanwhile Maxey and Tobias Harris continued to drain open threes against a collapsed Portland defense. Harris scored an easy turn-around in the lane with 3:30 remaining in the third, making the score 91-68, the equivalent of a “Buh-bye” shot. By the end of three, the Sixers led 99-81. Le sigh.

Fourth Quarter

Portland scored repeatedly at the cup at the top of the fourth, but they couldn’t hit a three-point shot to save their lives (or the game). That made a comeback all but impossible. Shaedon Sharpe made a layup or two. Without Embiid in the game, Portland once again extended the defense out onto the floor, to surprisingly good results. It didn’t change the outcome, but it was nice to see a little more cohesion and effectiveness at the perimeter on that end of the floor. Sharpe was especially nice. That’s something to take forward despite another loss against the ledger.

Up Next

Stay tuned for extended analysis of the game, coming soon!

Boxscore

The Blazers travel to Toronto to face the Raptors tomorrow at 4:30 PM, Pacific.