Joel Embiid Prioritized Matching Raptors' Physicality in Game 2

Joel Embiid knew the Toronto Raptors would bring the heat in the first round of the playoffs. Over the years, Embiid learned Toronto is not only hesitant to throw several bodies at him when he gets the ball, but they aren't afraid to get physical.

“The way that they defend me has never changed," Embiid said last week, leading up to the series. "They just play recklessly, sending three guys on me as soon as the ball is in the air, which made me better honestly over the years just playing against them and watching them. They definitely made me a better playmaker, so I enjoy playing with them. There are still a lot of ways I can attack them. It doesn’t have to be iso. I can just get good position on them and use my size and weight to try and take advantage of them. I think I know what I have to do. I just have to execute.”

In the first game between the Raptors and the Sixers, Embiid was held to just 19 points on the offensive end. However, his lack of scoring at his usual rate didn't affect the Sixers negatively. In fact, he played his role exceptionally well as he distributed the ball to his teammates for better looks when he drew too much attention.

Following Game 1, there was a lot of criticism about Embiid's physicality in the first outing as Raptors head coach Nick Nurse complained that Embiid got away with a lot of fouls. Therefore, Embiid anticipated the second outing to be much more physical.

The Sixers' big man was right about his assumption. Therefore, he wanted to make sure the Raptors felt his intensity as well to let Toronto know that the Sixers would not be bullied or backed down on either side of the ball.

Matching Physicality

"Going into the game, I knew what their strategy was," said Embiid. "From the get-go, I didn’t really want them to set that tone. I wanted myself and us to set that tone."

Early on in the matchup, Embiid got into a short-lived shoving match with Raptors forward OG Anunoby, which resulted in double-techs. At the time, it was unclear what sparked the altercation, but Embiid revealed it was a tactic from his side to prove the Sixers would match Toronto's physicality. 

"That’s why I picked up that first, early technical foul," Embiid continued. "I felt like there was a missed call on the other end. And on defense, I just wanted to make sure that the refs let us know how physical they wanted the game to be. So, that’s why I went ahead, and we started pushing each other, and we both got techs. But I knew that was their game plan. I knew that was going to be the adjustment, but I wanted to make sure I was the first one to bring the physicality."

Embiid's plan worked. Not only did the Sixers step up and refuse to back down from Toronto's game plan, but the Sixers once again dominated on the scoreboard. With a 112-97 victory, Philadelphia snagged Game 2, protecting their home court before hitting the road for Games 3 and 4.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.