Embiid vs Traps
A breakdown of the Nets trapping vs Joel Embiid.
Joel Embiid has been vulnerable to double teams in the past, with his turnovers and lack of playmaking being highlighted as a weakness opposing defenses could prey on. Just take a look at his numbers over the past 6 seasons, the post-ups slowly improved vs the blitz as well as the ISO numbers (after a wildly rough 19-20 season) tampered down.
Embiid Turnover % vs Hard Doubles
2017-18: 20% in ISO, 30% in Post Ups
2018-19: 30% in ISO, 20% in Post Ups
2019-20: 40% in ISO, 18% in Post Ups
2020-21: 19% in ISO, 19% in Post Ups
2021-22: 20% in ISO, 16% in Post Ups
2022-23: 22% in ISO, 16% in Post Ups
These raw numbers are not the end of the discussion since there are a number of factors that go into the result such as bad catches, right decisions that lead to an extra pass and that player travels - you get the idea. But the main point still worked - trapping Embiid was a recipe for success against letting him play 1 on 1, especially if you do not have a big man who can actually stand a chance against him 1 on 1.
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The very first thing I noticed was the Nets were doubling off of Harden intentionally and looking to take advantage of Harden’s inability (or unwillingness) to catch and shoot from 3 - only 20% of his shots come from catch & shoot. It’s a dangerous game to play since you are leaving open arguably the best passer in the NBA, so banking on his propensity to play slow was likely the thinking there.
Blitzing Off Harden
Out of baseline out of bounds, the 76ers typically throw it to Embiid in the post so when the double comes here off the strongside with Bridges leaving Harden it becomes a very long closeout. Harden moves it to Tobias & around for the PJ Tucker corner 3.
Against the best ballscreen duo in the NBA, the Nets decided to switch it - something they have done throughout the season - and end up with a wing on Embiid.
Again the blitz comes off Harden from one pass away and notice PJ Tucker here sneaks in from the corner so the extra pass is not even available when the closeout from Cam Johnson is toward the corner it opens up the drive to Harden’s left hand.
Harden drives and finds Maxey who keeps the advantage and knocks down the easy floater.
Quick Kickouts vs Blindside
Embiid floated around the Nails & ISO more than having him post up as soon as they recognized that the Nets were going to switch and blitz as early as possible on Embiid. This made it much easier to handle the double teams and find the other 76ers on the court as well as some clever off ball cutting.
Here Embiid catches it at the Elbow and sees the blitz coming from the opposite wing, a VERY long way to attack him and makes this pass out really easy.
A sneaky thing here is how PJ Tucker cuts low on the baseline taking Cam Johnson deeper into the paint and making it a much longer closeout.
Harris is then able to catch and shoot a wide open 3.
This time at the other elbow the blitz is from his blindside off Maxey and McDaniels cuts low on the baseline into space - drawing Curry’s attention.
Embiid is able to find Maxey who hits McDaniels on the cut and sucks in the help defense with Oneal recovering into no-mans land and this leaves Bridges on the weakside defending in space vs 2 players.
McDaniels then finds Melton on the kickout 3.
Flashes & Reposts
Another way Embiid attacked this was to go before the blitz could come after giving it up or having the ball swung on the wing. Here after the initial blitz from basically the entire Nets defense they recover for a second as the ball hits the wing.
Almost as soon as it hits Melton’s hands it goes right back to Embiid who makes a quick shimmy and then goes quickly attacking the basket with no resistance.
The Nets switch another pick and roll and Embiid initially rolls to the post but the Nets blitz Maxey who retreats and then finds Harden.
In the chaos and the recovery Sharpe goes to the paint and Bridges expects him to take Embiid back off the ball with a switch back. Embiid sees this space and flashes to the ball as Harden finds him and draws the foul to get to the free throw line.
IQ
I really felt Embiid showed off his evolution and how he is able to see what the defense is giving him by playing slower and using his IQ. Sitting at the nail and going into a straight ISO he backs down Claxton initially and then sees the blitz coming off Harden - again 1 pass away.
Watch here how he manipulates the defense as Dinwiddie is defending in space by ball faking toward the baseline sending him flying out of position.
Then Embiid finds Harden who makes an easy extra pass for the corner 3.
Another example of Embiid using his IQ and feel for the game as the Nets try and use different coverages with Sharpe in Drop coverage and the Nets clogging up space. Here instead of rolling hard he notices Harden is pulling back so he sits in space around the Elbow and makes himself available for the pass.
Then on the catch he immediately jabs and creates a sliver of space as Sharpe recovers to him and knocks down the pullup jumper.
Horns High Low
A set the 76ers will use vs both Man & Zone is a simple high low set for Embiid and with the Nets trapping it made sense to go it for a quick score late in the 2nd quarter.
A simple set but with Harden handling at the elbow and Embiid ducking in in the middle of the floor it makes it almost impossible to double-team him.
📝 Playbooks:
2023 NCAA Tournament Playbook | 2023 Uconn Huskies Playbook | NCAA Tournament Bundle (2018-2023)
🏀 Resources:
Basketball Playbooks | Coaching Clinics | Coaching Membership | Newsletter
👉🏻 Follow:
I hope you enjoyed this breakdown, and as always thank you again for all of your support and for sharing my work.
Outwork Yesterday
Coach Pyper
If you're Brooklyn tonight, what's your counter for Embiid's success against the double? Or how do you tweak the same concept but to avoid these pitfalls?