Joel Embiid feels confident about the Philadelphia 76ers‘ chances of winning a title this season — for now, at least.
The team’s star and MVP candidate opened up this week about the challenging stretch the team faced, when they went 4-1 against five contending teams. Embiid said he believes the Sixers can hang with any team, but gave a somewhat tenuous endorsement of the team’s chances.
“It shows you that, not just for now, it shows you that we got a chance,” Embiid said, via the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Sixers Notch Another Big Win
Embiid’s remarks came before the team’s thrilling come-from-behind win over the Portland Trail Blazers on March 10. The Sixers erased a 21-point deficit, winning on Embiid’s fall-away jumper with 1.1 seconds remaining.
After the 120-119 victory, Sixers coach Doc Rivers gave his team credit for continuing to hang with the Blazers through a difficult first half.
“It wasn’t our night until 1.1 seconds, when you think about it,” Rivers said, via ESPN. “We stayed at it. We were looking for everything and just couldn’t get going, man. We looked like we were in mud in the first half on both ends.
JOEL EMBIID WITH 1 SECOND LEFT 😱
WHAT A SHOT. SIXERS LEAD BY 1.
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“That’s a hell of a win for us because we didn’t have a lot, and you could see it.”
After the win, Embiid joined in sharing praise for the team’s never-give-up approach but also shared some concern that the team once again had to come back from a significant deficit.
“Down 20, guys could have been saying the game is over and we moved on to the next one,” Embiid said, via The Associated Press. “But these guys keep on fighting. But we have to stop putting ourselves in these position.”
The Sixers gave up 71 points to the Blazers in the first half, but made a defensive change in the second half with P.J. Tucker holding down the middle and Embiid guarding the perimeter. Rivers said after the game that it was effective in trapping Blazers guard Damian Lillard.
The win gave the Sixers their seventh win in the last 10 games and pushed their record to 44-22, increasing their hold on the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference …read more
Source:: Heavy.com