Sixers’ Joel Embiid wants to score more against the Raptors, but he’s not going to force it

It’s no secret that Joel Embiid holds himself to high standards.

After all, the 76ers center’s stated goal is the become the NBA’s most valuable player, and he claims to already be the league’s best defender.

Yet, Embiid has struggled on the offensive end through two games of the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Toronto Raptors. He’s looking forward to reversing that trend in Thursday night’s Game 3 at the Wells Fargo Center. Just don’t look for him to hinder his team by forcing things.

“I’ve always figured [things] out somehow,” said Embiid, who has been studying a lot of film of the first two games. “I’ve been in these types of situations before. So I’m going to figure it out. I’m not too worried about it.”

“But at the end of the day, it’s all about doing whatever I’m asked to.”

It he’s asked to set screens or go to the basket and find teammates while he’s double- and triple-teamed, that’s what Sixers’ leading scorer will do.

His teammates are going to try to feed Embiid the ball early in the offense, before the Raptors can get set up defensively. That could help him find his groove.

Embiid was the league’s fourth-leading scorer at 27.5 points per game during the regular season. His scoring average dropped a little to 24.8 in the opening-round series against the Brooklyn Nets. He, however, had a 31-point effort in Game 4 of that series.

Against the Raptors, Embiid is averaging 14 points while shooting just 28 percent (7-for-25). He only attempted seven shots in Monday’s 94-89 Game 2 victory at Scotiabank Arena.

“I’m not going to force the issue [just] because I’m not averaging the same amount of points I was before, because I’m not scoring as much,” Embiid said. “So if I only have to take five shots, but also [he has] to make sure I make the right decisions. That’s what I’m going to do.”

He has struggled the most when guarded by Marc Gasol.

The Raptor averaged 30 defensive possessions against Embiid in the two games. Embiid averaged 4.5 points during those possessions.

Gasol has great footwork. At 7-foot-1, he’s basically a body double for the 7-2 Embiid. So in the post, Gasol, who’s very strong, gets great leverage and is hard to push around. He actually has been pushing Embiid off his spots.

Embiid points out that the Raptors’ defensive scheme involves a lot of shifting.

“Most of the time even with him, they send double-, triple-teams,” he said. “So It’s kind of hard to find myself in a one-on-one situation. But he’s a great defender.”

“But, I mean, if they are going to keep throwing those double-, triple-teams, I got to pass the ball. That’s all I can do is make a quick move or pass the ball.”

But going quick to the basket against their double-teams can lead to turnovers. He had six of them on Monday. So Embiid knows that he must remain patient.

Defensively, Embiid did a great job against fellow Cameroon native Pascal Siakam, who scored 21 points on 9-for-25 shooting. He made just 2-of-7 three-pointers. Embiid’s length seemed to bother the 6-9 Raptor.

“I’m going to keep guarding him the same way until unless he shows me something else as far as far as making a couple threes,” Embiid said. “Then we can make adjustments. But I’m going to keep doing my job. It’s just continue.”

The series is tied at a game apiece. Game 4 is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center.