The New York Knicks are set to face the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs, and one of the key talking points ahead of the series is how the former will slow down Joel Embiid.
This assignment of limiting the reigning NBA MVP is assigned to Isaiah Hartenstein, the New York Knicks starting center for most of the year, and the 25-year-old spoke about what he’s expecting in this matchup during a recent press conference.
“He’s going to seek fouls, so that’s the main thing. Through fouls, he’ll get his little breaks, easy free throws, so that’s the main focus is not letting him to the line and going from there,” Isaiah Hartenstein said about Joel Embiid via Knicks Videos on X (formerly known as Twitter).
“Keep your hands back, knowing at the end of the day he’s the MVP, so he’s going to get some calls that maybe don’t go in your favor. But at the end of the day, it’s really just doing your job, playing team defense, and don’t really put your hands in because he’s gonna try to get it in,” he added.
Joel Embiid against the New York Knicks this season
The New York Knicks won three of their four regular-season matchups against the Philadelphia 76ers, but it’s worth noting that Joel Embiid only played in one because he was sidelined due to a knee injury for most of the year.
Joel Embiid played in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 128-92 loss against the New York Knicks in their first meeting this season, and the Team USA center recorded 30 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and three blocks while going 9-of-12 from the charity stripe.
It’ll be interesting to see how the New York Knicks deal with Joel Embiid, and perhaps they can take a page out of the Miami Heat’s playbook during their play-in game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday when they gave him different looks that made it hard for him, at least in the first three periods.
