The Philadelphia 76ers are looking to even up the series following their Game 1 loss to the Boston Celtics on Monday and Sixers’ big man Joel Embiid is ready to take on a bigger load to help them get the victory.
Embiid poured in 26 points and 16 rebounds in the loss, but he believes that he will need to do more to carry the Sixers to a win in Game 2.
“Obviously not enough [shots],” Embiid said, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “I’ve got to be more aggressive. Maybe we need to call some more plays but I don’t know. That’s another thing we’ve got to fix going into Game 2.”
The Sixers, and Embiid were haunted by turnovers, with 7 in the first quarter alone, 3 by Embiid.
“This is the double-edged sword where you have to figure out what line do you want to walk,” Sixers head coach Brett Brown said. “This overplaying the volume of just smashmouth, bully-ball post-ups; if you do it all the time it comes with some level of punishment if you’re not careful.”
“I’ve got to do more. I got one job to do, to carry us,” Embiid said. “I’m going to need my teammates to help but I need to do more. I’ve got to take more shots, I’ve got to be more aggressive, I’ve got to help my teammates.”
“You can’t minimize the fact the losing stinks,” Brown said. “But I feel like there are answers to the questions of why.”
