The Philadelphia 76ers shouldn’t be concerned about the big men match up against the Wizards as Washington’s owner would hope.
There are a couple of teams within the Eastern Conference that the Philadelphia 76ers will have to concern themselves with. Teams like the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors will present Philadelphia with legit problems in the regular and post season in regards to individual player match ups. While there are teams in the East that can cause the Sixers match-up problems, the Washington Wizards aren’t one of them.
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Recently, Wizards owner Ted Leonsis gave his view on Washington’s offseason acquisition of former All-Star center Dwight Howard. Within the NBC Sports Washington article by Chase Hughes, Leonsis conveyed his belief that Howard will help in the matchup against the Sixers, especially when it comes to Joel Embiid. While Howard is a better defender than former Wizards center Marcin Gortat, Howard won’t help the Wizards get anymore wins against Embiid and the 76ers.
Since Embiid has entered the NBA, he has played against the former and current Wizards starting center four times each. Each center has differing defensive impacts on Embiid’s offensive production. Howard’s defensive impact is evident on Embiid’s game.
| Player | G | W | L | GS | MP | FG% | 3P% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joel Embiid | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 26.7 | .508 | .429 | .632 | 1.8 | 8.8 | 10.5 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 20.0 |
| Dwight Howard | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 25.5 | .514 | 1.000 | .529 | 1.0 | 4.8 | 5.8 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 12.0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/3/2018.
Against Howard, Embiid’s numbers were down in the points and offensive rebound departments, while he averaged more turnovers than his career average. When looking at Gortat’s impact on Embiid’s game, there is one area where the former Wizards center defense was the most impactful.
| Player | G | W | L | GS | MP | FG% | 3P% | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joel Embiid | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 30.8 | .451 | .294 | .788 | 2.8 | 9.8 | 12.5 | 3.5 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 3.8 | 23.8 |
| Marcin Gortat | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 25.0 | .529 | .500 | 2.5 | 5.3 | 7.8 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 9.8 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/3/2018.
Gortat was unable to stop Embiid from putting up points and stopped him from getting a high number of offensive rebounds than Howard. However, It’s important to note that Gortat made it much harder for Embiid to score. This can be seen from the field goal and 3-point percentages that Embiid had against the former Wizards center. Embiid is a much more efficient scorer against Howard than Gortat. Embiid also had a better win percentage against Howard than Gortat.
Howard may hold some of Embiid’s numbers down, but doesn’t mean it will translate to more wins. Embiid’s shooting numbers show Howard’s better defense only has a superficial affect on Embiid’s game. In reality, Howard may only be a slightly better defensive option against Embiid. Howard’s defense won’t be enough to help Wizards win anymore games against the Sixers in the regular or postseason.
The upgrades at center and other positions on the Wizards roster, still won’t be enough to challenge the dominance of the Philadelphia 76ers this upcoming season. Howard’s defensive skill won’t be enough to severely hamper the game of arguably the best center in the NBA. The Wizards owner is ill-informed to think otherwise.