NBA playoffs: Sixers’ Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler thriving in pick-and-roll against Raptors

It was a performance that showcased Joel Embiid at his best, thriving in so many pick-and-roll settings.

Hitting threes, scoring on a windmill dunk, sinking foul shots, while also rebounding and protecting the rim. It all came through during a standout performance in the 76ers’ 116-95 win over the visiting Toronto Raptors on Thursday that gave them a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Embiid had 33 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocked shots. He kept the Raptors out of the lane and forced them to shoot from the outside, which for the last two games has been an unpleasant experience for them.

Heading into Sunday’s 3:30 p.m. Game 4 at the Wells Fargo Center, the Raptors must now adjust to Embiid’s dominance. He was ill and scored just 12 points in the Sixers 94-89 win in Game 2 and just had a poor game (5-for-18 shooting) in the 108-95 loss in Game 1.

The Sixers have been making adjustments on the fly all season, from bringing in new players to developing new schemes. Now it is Toronto’s turn.

Toronto’s inability to cover the Sixers on the pick-and-roll and Embiid’s ability to execute off it, especially with Jimmy Butler, drove the Raptors to complete frustration on Thursday.

“We are growing to where we feel more comfortable where we can put him [Embiid] on a matchup or put him on a scheme that would allow him to be Joel Embiid at the rim,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said on Friday in a conference call with reporters. "You look at some of the plays he had at the rim last night, they are jaw-dropping.”

Some of them away from the rim weren’t bad, either. Embiid was 3-for-4 from three-point territory, but he also drew foul after foul while making a succession of free throws.

He was 12-for-13 from the foul line, making him 20-for-21 in the Sixers’ two wins.

The Sixers acquired the 6-foot-8 Butler from Minnesota in November, and his basketball IQ is among the top 1 percent in the league. They acquired 6-9 Tobias Harris on Feb. 6, another high-IQ player. Both are tailor-made for the pick-and-roll.

“It is clear they shine in pick-and-roll [situations], and [we can] turn them loose in the open court,” Brown said. “So the evolution in pick-and-roll stuff was obvious, and I think the growth of the people behind it, I think that is as important.”

The chemistry between Butler, who had 22 points, nine rebounds and nine assists on Thursday, and Embiid continues to grow.

“I feel in general, Joel and Jimmy are for sure establishing a respect, a trust, a relationship, an acknowledgement that they need each other,” Brown said. “They are at a state where Jimmy, by a lot of standards, isn’t old, and Joel is considered young.”

Butler will be 30 in September and Embiid turned 25 in March.

“Maybe there is a partnership that can evolve," Brown said. "I think the partnership the two have as they are walking out on the floor, sharing just different thoughts on seeing a pick-and-roll, angles and what Jimmy is looking at.”

Toronto has a lot more to worry about than just defending Embiid on the pick-and-roll, or Butler. On the other end, what do the Raptors do in attacking the basket when Embiid is swatting everything else in sight?

Yes, the Raptors have had open looks, but they haven’t taken advantage of them. Since winning Game 1, Toronto has shot a combined 17-for-64 (26.5 percent) from three-point range the past two games.

The Sixers’ big lineup is hurting the Raptors, so much so that there has been a hesitancy in shooting.

“They did a go job of rotating and kind of making it hard for us out there,” Raptors forward Pascal Siakam said after the game. “I think they did a pretty decent job rotating and making it hard any time you had the ball, you felt like there was somebody in front of you. And we passed up shots and it kind of messed up the rhythm a little bit.”

Rotating on defense, pounding it down low on offense, taking advantage of their size, and continuing to refine the pick-and-roll.

It’s a lot for the Raptors to digest, especially when Embiid is at the top of his game.