Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and superstar Stephen Curry heap praises of Sixers big man Joel Embiid ahead of their contest on Saturday night.
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It would not be wrong to say that Joel Embiid is one of the most dominating and skilled big men in the NBA’s current era. The seven-foot center is trying to keep the Sixers afloat amid the absence of point guard Ben Simmons.
Ahead of their match against the Philly team, the Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and point guard Stephen Curry applauded the sheer magnificence of Embiid as a player. Curry is ten 3-pointers away from breaking Ray Allen’s all-time record.
However, the two-time MVP is aware that it wouldn’t be an easy task to accomplish the milestone against Embiid, something head coach Kerr echoed as well. Curry stated that everyone on the Warriors roster would have to be vigilant against Sixers big man.
Coach Kerr even compared Embiid to the likes of Hall of Famers such as Shaquille O’Neal, Patrick Ewing, and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr are all praise for Joel Embiid.
Embiid finished off as the runner-up during the last season’s MVP race. In what many believed, the Philly center could have won the award hadn’t it been for his injuries, due to which he missed more than a handful of games.
Embiid is currently averaging 24.1 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 1.1 SPG, and 1.4 BPG. The Cameroon native is shooting an impressive 44.1% from the field and 39.6% from the 3-point line. Recently, coach Kerr compared Embiid to some of the most dominant big men in the history of the league.
“Playing against Joel is like going into a time machine,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “It’s like playing against Patrick Ewing or Shaq or Hakeem Olajuwon, it’s a low post-game. He will step out and shoot 3s and run some DHOs and he’s good with that, but he’s one of the few guys in the league now who can dominate a game from the low block and they’ve done a great job with their roster. Putting a lot of shooting around him.”
Via: Sixers Wire
Steph Curry, who is one of the favorites to win the league MVP this season, is aware that it isn’t going to be easy breaking Allen’s all-time 3-point record in front of Embiid.
“It’s difficult, obviously,” Curry said of Embiid at practice on Friday. “He’s super talented, physical with his presence, it seems like the control of his game, his decision-making, in terms of how he’s getting his points has evolved every year. If he gets everything and gets to the foul line and gets the putbacks and easy stuff and you break down, that’s where you get in trouble,” Curry added. You just gotta stay disciplined. It’s not just on Loon (Kevon Looney), Draymond (Green), Juan (Toscano-Anderson), it’s on everybody.”
As LeBron James said if there is anyone who can shoot ten 3s in a game, it’s Steph. However, the presence of Embiid on the hardwood would certainly make it a daunting task for the reigning scoring champion.
