Washington Wizards: 3 matchups that will decide first-round playoff series vs. the Philadelphia 76ers

#1 Washington Wizards matchup to watch: Trio of Bigs vs. Joel Embiid

This will be the biggest test of the series by far! Joel Embiid is an MVP finalist for a reason and there’s no doubt in my mind that he was the frontrunner before suffering a bone bruise in his left knee against the Washington Wizards on March 12. The injury ultimately forced him to miss 19 games.

Embiid most likely won’t win MVP this season but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been absolutely dominant all year long! Against Washington alone, Embiid has averaged 30.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.0 blocks with outstanding efficiency. In their three regular-season meetings, he shot a remarkable 60.4 percent from the field, 83.3 percent from beyond the arc, and 96.4 percent from the charity stripe.

No one man can stop Joel Embiid. You just have to hope you can contain him. Thankfully, the Wizards have a trio of centers to throw at him in Alex Len, Daniel Gafford, and Robin Lopez. Washington’s ample supply of big men to match up against Embiid is truly a blessing because someone is bound to get in foul trouble while guarding him. Embiid led the entire NBA in free-throws attempted per game (10.7). He’s a master at drawing contact and getting to the foul line where he shoots 85.9 percent. Therefore, it’s paramount that Len, Gafford, and Lopez try their best to refrain from sending Embiid to the line because he’s almost automatic.

We know head coach Scott Brooks will use all three of his centers but the real question is, will he continue his approach of giving the most minutes to whoever has it going that game? Alex Len has started the last 36 games, but Brooks has been rotating all three centers pretty evenly in terms of minutes. Len, Gafford, and Lopez each play around 16-19 minutes per game unless one of them is absolutely flourishing on the floor. Then Brooks tends to slightly extend the minutes of whoever’s hot.

This strategy worked fine in the regular season, but Scott Brooks needs to strongly consider giving Daniel Gafford the majority of the minutes at the center. Gafford has been tremendous since the Washington Wizards acquired him from the Chicago Bulls at this year’s trade deadline. His energy, athleticism, and ability to protect the paint are clearly the best out of the group, and that’s not even up for debate. In Thursday’s win over the Pacers, Gafford had 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocks in only 22 minutes! After the game, Coach Scott Brooks called Gafford “special” and was highly complimentary of his play.

It’s refreshing to hear Brooks finally realize what he has in Gafford. Now let’s hope that he finally unleashes Gafford because this is when it matters the most!