Joel Embiid's No Phantom in Game 3
What a great time to be a sports fan in Philadelphia!
- The Eagles are Super Bowl champions,
- Villanova won the Big Dance,
- The Phillies are actually playing decent baseball,
- The Flyers are hanging in there against hated rival Pittsburgh, and
- The 76ers are reaping benefits from the much-maligned Process.
Joel Embiid finally got a chance to shed his spectator's role and partake in his first-ever playoff game in this first-round series with Miami, and dude clearly revelled in it.
He even got a kick outta the fact that Justise Winslow didn't realize he had 50 hi-tech masks on hand to protect the damaged orbital bone that had kept him on the sidelines.
🤔🤔🤔🤔 pic.twitter.com/tBq6soGs6r
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) April 20, 2018
Frankly, that was one of this games milder moments.
Flyers fans woulda been right at home here in a first half that featured 31 fouls plus 4 technicals, and 45 free throws.
There was even an undercard matching Dwayne Wade and Justin Anderson, but in Philadelphia hockey terms, that was merely a series of love taps.
In the battle that mattered, Embiid was unstoppable.
Dude racked up 23 points, 7 boards, 4 assists, and 3 blocks along the way to a 128-108 76ers beatdown, putting them up 2-1 in the series.
What should be scary to the rest of the league is Embiid seemed to be merely providing a hint of things to come.
As long as there are no distractions.
Dude's a phantom no more.