The Philadelphia 76ers smacked the good, veteran Miami Heat in the NBA playoffs' first round, and no matchup was more surprising than the big-man battle between Joel Embiid and Hassan Whiteside. Fans expected we'd see a showdown between two of the best centers in the East, but while Embiid was a dominant force, Whiteside struggled mightily.
Whiteside could hardly stay on the floor as Philly went small. For the series, he averaged 15.4 minutes, 5.2 points, and 6.0 rebounds per game.
Embiid, on the other hand, has been dominant in the postseason since returning from surgery to repair a broken orbital bone. He's putting up 21.8 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game this postseason. Perhaps most impressively, he's been able to stay on the court and has averaged 31.5 minutes per game.
After the series, Heat president and former coach Pat Riley said Whiteside showed up to the playoffs out of shape.
"By the time we got to the playoffs, I don't think he was ready," Riley said Monday. "He wasn't in great shape. He wasn't fully conditioned for a playoff battle mentally. He and we got our heads handed to us."
Embiid, however, said Whiteside shouldn't be able to play the "I was out of shape" card. He called out Riley in an Instagram comment.
My goodness, Joel Embiid owns Whiteside's soul pic.twitter.com/Iwu3aAqxpP
The Sixers advanced to play the Celtics in the second round but dropped Game 1, 117-101, on Monday night. Game 2 will take place Thursday at 8:30 p.m. EST.
