Joel Embiid is already one of the NBA’s best defenders in the regular season. But when the Sixers make their way into the playoffs, he’s always gone up a gear defensively through his career. And after missing the first two games of the second round against the Heat due to a concussion, returning with a torn ligament in his right thumb and a mask after suffering an orbital fracture in the first round, he’s done exactly that yet again.
In the least shocking development ever, transitioning from DeAndre Jordan as the team’s starting center to Joel Embiid has made Sixers’ defense infinitely better.