Joel Embiid impressed by James Harden's attacking Performance, Postgame Interview
JOEL EMBIID 11 FOR 11 FROM THE FREE THROW LINE. IT IS HIS 19TH CAREER PLAYOFF GAME WITH 26 OR MORE POINTS. LOOKS LIKE HE HAS SOME COMPANY HERE AT THE PODIUM JUST MEETING AND NOT TURNING THE BALL OVER, BUT SETTING YOUR TEAM UP FOR IMMEDIATE SHOTS. IT SEEMS LIKE THERE’S BEEN A PRETTY BIG JUMP IN THE LAST. JUST KEEPING IT SIMPLE. YOU KNOW, LIKE YOU SAID. YOU WANT TO DRIVE, YOU KNOW, THAT’S FOR DADDY. I MEAN, EVERY SINGLE POSSESSION THAT JUST KEPT DOUBLING. YOU KNOW, HE DIDN’T MATTER WHERE I WAS. HALFCOURT. 3.3. LINE POST IT.
SO, YOU KNOW, I JUST I GOT TO TRUST IN MY TEAMMATES. GOT TO MAKE THE SIMPLE, SIMPLE PLAYS. AND YOU KNOW, AND WE WE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THAT SCHEME. HOW IMPORTANT WAS THE EFFORT ON THE GLASS GETTING ALL THOSE EXTRA SHOTS. YOU WANT TO GO DRIVE? OKAY. OKAY. GOOD JOB. WAIT. IT WAS IMPORTANT. I MEAN, YOU KNOW, ANY TIME YOU CAN HAVE, YOU KNOW, I DON’T KNOW, LIKE 15, YOU KNOW, 16 MORE SHOTS THAN THE OPENING. HE HELPS A LOT. YOU’RE GOING TO SEE MOMMY. MOMMY’S OVER THERE. OH, NO. OH, NO, NO, NO. IT’S FUN.
ANY TIME YOU CAN GET YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, MORE POSSESSIONS THAN THE OTHER TEAM. HE’S ALWAYS GREAT. SO, YOU KNOW, WE WE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF IT. AND LIKE
YOU KNOW, MAKE PLAYS FOR MY TEAMMATES, YOU KNOW, SAME THING FOR JAMES. ANY TIME IT WAS DOUBLE AND YOU KNOW, ANY TIME, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS DRIBBLE PENETRATION. HE MADE THE RIGHT PLAY EVERY SINGLE TIME. WHAT DO YOU THINK WENT WRONG AGAINST BRIDGES IN THE FIRST HALF AND WHAT DID YOU GUYS DO TO CORRECT THAT? SECOND, WE LET HIM GET COMFORTABLE. ALL YOU KNOW, EVERYTHING WAS GETTING HE WAS GETTING DOWNHILL. YOU KNOW, HE WAS GETTING A BUNCH OF PULL UP JUMPERS AND, YOU KNOW, IT’S NOT EASY BEING THE STAR, BEING THE MAIN GUY. SO AS
SOON AS, YOU KNOW, WE SAW THAT, YOU KNOW, WE JUST DOUBLE AND GOT THE BALL OUT, GOT THE BALL OUT OF HIS HANDS AND WALKED OUT PRETTY WELL FOR US. DON’T YOU THINK OF ALREADY PERFORMANCE IN THE MINUTES YOU WERE OFF THE FLOOR? OH, IT WAS GREAT. YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, HIM AND PJ, EXTRA POSSESSIONS. AND THEN YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT HE DID A GREAT JOB SCREENING, BOWLING, PLAYING, YOU KNOW, OUT OF THAT DUNKER, GETTING EASY PASSES AND FINISHING, YOU KNOW, MADE A GREAT MOVE, YOU KNOW, BEHIND THE BACK THAT WE PROBABLY DON’T WANT
TO SEE AGAIN. BUT I’M JUST KIDDING. HE CAN DO WHATEVER HE WANTS. WHATEVER WORKS, YOU KNOW, I GUESS I GOT TO KEEP DOING IT. BUT HE WAS GREAT. JAMES HARDEN WAS TALKING ABOUT HOW MUCH HEALTHIER HE IS NOW COMPARED TO LAST YEAR. IN YOUR VIEW, HOW MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE AND HEALTHY IS HE GOING INTO THESE PLAYOFFS? BUT LOOK GREAT, YOU KNOW, JUST LIKE I SAID, JUST DRIBBLE PENETRATION. YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, SETTING UP GUYS, HE SHOT LOOK GREAT FROM THREE HE GOT HE GOT HIS SHOT BLOCKED A FEW TIMES AT THE RIM. BUT IT’S GOING
TO HAPPEN. AND I’M SURE NEXT TIME HE’S GOING TO FINISH IT. BUT, YOU KNOW, HE LOOKS AMAZING AND THAT’S GREAT TO SEE SO MUCH MORE. QUESTION DOC, YOU SAID HE WAS A A CATCHER. I’LL ALSO WHY HE WAS CALLED A GAME TODAY. YEAH, WE’VE TALKED A BUNCH OF TIMES OUT. ANTHONY’S THE BEST PLAYMAKER IN THAT THE WAY HE WAS PLAYING TODAY IN THAT FACET. IS THAT WHAT YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO NEED TO GET WHERE YOU WANT TO GO IN TERMS OF THE WAY? YEAH, YEAH. I THINK, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, BEST PLAYMAKER IN
THE LEAGUE BY FAR. BUT YOU KNOW YOU DON’T WE DON’T WANT HIM AND SUDDENLY ME I DON’T WANT HIM TO FALL IN LOVE WITH JUST THAT. I NEED HIM TO BE AGGRESSIVE AND HE WAS TODAY JUST ATTACKING AND BUY HIM ATTACKING. HE COLLAPSES THE DEFENSE AND YOU KNOW, IT CREATES, YOU KNOW, OPEN SHOTS FOR EVERYBODY ELSE. SO, YOU KNOW, WE’RE PLAYING IN THE DUNKER, YOU KNOW, EASY DROP OFF PASSES. SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE KIDS, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST BEING A PLAYMAKER, JUST BEING AGGRESSIVE, YOU KNOW, GOING DOWNHILL A
