***Official Timberwolves @ Sixers GDT 20 Dec Official***

[YBBR]

Those whistles compound in other ways that get him and the 6ers off. It gets our bigs in foul trouble and we have to sit em. It effects how aggressively they can play defense and how tight they play Embiid because he gets the benefit of the whistle almost all players do not. Which gives him space on his jumpers. Nobody wants to help on him for fear of getting a foul called on them. It makes it so much easier for him to score, especially because the dude is already 7ft 3in.

you're right you're right you're right. and i don't know what can be done about it. refs are like pavlov's dogs - they see joel and they start salivating on their whistles. or something. but i was sincere in my garza proposal. it's a GIVEN that rudy and or Karl will immediately get a bunch of fouls in the first quarter playing Embiid. Start Garza and give him those six. first quarter - all hard as hell. when rudy enters later, he'll have a clean slate - and what he does won't look nearly as egregious as the owies Luka just dealt. seriously, they aren't going to send Embiid to the line for 30 foul shots. so... we'd have Karl, Rudy and naz all less handcuffed at the end of games and during crunchtime.

Great points on the extra space for his midrange out of fear of some ticky tack foul that most players don't get. Canning open midrange all day if you have the luxury. And also getting those initial ref whistle checks out of the way.

The biggest play that showed how soft and careful they had to play Embiid was in the third Karl and Gobert were both sitting with foul trouble. Naz was guarding Embiid on the right block who had the ball. He was playing off him by about 2 feet because he absolutely can not pick up another foul as short handed as they already were. Embiid easily turns left shoulder and spins baseline goes to the other side of the rim and dunks it. Naz can't even offer resistance because of how far away he is from Embiid on the post move. And he had to play that far off him.

Jim Pete even brought it up and said something to the effect of "I don't know what you even do there with how they've called the game for Embiid."

[witljon]

Very tough road game when the refs set the tone with 2 quick fouls on Gobert in the first 3 minutes against the reining MVP.

[weimy froob]

you won't have to think about it for awhile Ant.

"Man, my brother was just texting me like, 'Bruh, I ain't never seen nothin' like it.' He's unstoppable, man," guard Anthony Edwards said. "I don't see how they lose a game, honestly. I don't see how they lose."

[weimy froob]

Rudy Gobert, who was in foul trouble most of the night, had eight points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes. His absence on defense was noticeable for the Wolves, and he said officials set the tone for the night by calling two questionable fouls on him only 3:29 into the game.

"It makes it even harder for me when the officials call some fouls like they call the first two fouls and that puts me in foul trouble," Gobert said. "Then it's even harder to guard him. I wish they would let us — call the game more fairly. So I can really at least try to be me and try to make him work even harder."

Gobert also expressed some frustration with how he has been officiated early in recent road games, like a loss at New Orleans on Dec. 11 and a win at Dallas last Thursday. He said he has been on the receiving end of a lot of uncalled contact on offense while getting called for quick fouls while defending.

"It doesn't seem natural, especially with the things I was able to accomplish in my career, me coming in the game and getting two quick fouls like that, with everything that they do to me on the other end, it's weird. It's really weird," Gobert said. "There's some things that, I guess, we'll never know, never understand, and I don't want to focus on that. I don't want to put my attention on that, but it's really affecting our team when I have to sit two minutes, three minutes into the game.

"Coming back with two fouls and try to be me, but it's hard to be you when you got three guys waiting to take you out of the game as soon as they can."

Gobert might be hearing from the league office about a fine after his comments while Wolves coach Chris Finch and Edwards will write out a check after receiving technicals. At one point in the second quarter, Finch shouted at one official, "Stop protecting him," referring to Embiid, who was standing nearby.

[weimy froob]

this was a five point swing.

[somuchyummy]

Naz giving Embiid so much space because how deep in foul trouble the bigs are and how the game is called and then just spins left shoulder baseline and gets an easy dunk.

It's infuriating how favorably he's called so they have to adjust.

I almost wonder if it does make sense to start Luka in Philly games. Get six hard fouls out of the way in the first quarter, and then maybe the refs will be less inclined to call them when Rudy enters with zero fouls. I'd rather our bigs have fewer at the end of games so Embiid can be played tighter down the stretch.

I like that.
hope Mrs. Yummy recovers completely soon. Hugs to both of you.

Thanks for the concern, Cat. We made it home around ten. Kidney stone out of nowhere. Followups to ensue, but she's feeling much better.

[PanicWolf]

Got the wolves to win conference regular season at +4200

[weimy froob]

Got the wolves to win conference regular season at +4200

nice. how much money you put down?

[minnemike]

Betting Embiid gets 15+ free throws

Nailed it

[Roy Kent]

this was a five point swing.

This play right here was the end of the game for me. Embiid 100% hit Edwards on the shoulder of his dunking hand. That's a freaking foul and would be called if the rolls were reversed. The fix was in. So frustrating when the refs control the game.

[SHAFA]

this was a five point swing.

They didn't call him for a charge on that? I'm shocked.

[PanicWolf]

20 to win 860

[Catalyst]

I almost wonder if it does make sense to start Luka in Philly games. Get six hard fouls out of the way in the first quarter, and then maybe the refs will be less inclined to call them when Rudy enters with zero fouls. I'd rather our bigs have fewer at the end of games so Embiid can be played tighter down the stretch.

I like that.
hope Mrs. Yummy recovers completely soon. Hugs to both of you.

Thanks for the concern, Cat. We made it home around ten. Kidney stone out of nowhere. Followups to ensue, but she's feeling much better.

Been there. It is the most pain. If she drinks a lot of tea that can cause them. I had to switch to green tea. Luck to her tgat they find cause and stop them.

[somuchyummy]

I'd be interested to learn the percentage of plays involving contact with Embiid where he falls to the floor. Really diminishes the way I view him because he's such a consistent tool. And good points all around made about early fouls called against his defenders and how that unfairly helps him thru the course of games, but don't forget about the many fouls he's not called for - and how that also unfairly helps him. He got his fourth last night with four minutes to go and the game in the bag. Sucks large.

Embiid is a rim protecting big who plays a physical brand of basketball, yet has only fouled out 9 times in an 8 year, 418 game career. How is that even possible? KAT has fouled out 32 times in his career. You can make the point that KAT is clumsy and foul prone, but Embiid ain't exactly a ballerina out there.

[minnemike]

I'd be interested to learn the percentage of plays involving contact with Embiid where he falls to the floor. Really diminishes the way I view him because he's such a consistent tool. And good points all around made about early fouls called against his defenders and how that unfairly helps him thru the course of games, but don't forget about the many fouls he's not called for - and how that also unfairly helps him. He got his fourth last night with four minutes to go and the game in the bag. Sucks large.

Embiid is a rim protecting big who plays a physical brand of basketball, yet has only fouled out 9 times in an 8 year, 418 game career. How is that even possible? KAT has fouled out 32 times in his career. You can make the point that KAT is clumsy and foul prone, but Embiid ain't exactly a ballerina out there.

Embiid has a better psycho glare at the refs than Kat does. Only explanation.

[weimy froob]

in a hypothetical seven game series match-up with the sixers what do you think should be done to slow down embiid's mid-range game? do you think having jaden slide over to try to help contest the shot would be effective?

[Hornets]

in a hypothetical seven game series match-up with the sixers what do you think should be done to slow down embiid's mid-range game? do you think having jaden slide over to try to help contest the shot would be effective?

It's a great question Weimy. There is no easy answer....best to hope that Embiid gets hurt and can't play.

[somuchyummy]

in a hypothetical 7 game series, one would hope that a national stage would reign in the refs ridiculous bias towards him, he'd be easier to limit with defenders not always in foul trouble, plus he'd find himself in more foul trouble.

[weimy froob]

in a hypothetical 7 game series, one would hope that a national stage would reign in the refs ridiculous bias towards him, he'd be easier to limit with defenders not always in foul trouble, plus he'd find himself in more foul trouble.

you'd hope that they wouldn't blow that whistle on rudy's first foul. horton said that the wolves knew that crew blew a lot of whistles going into the game though--and the 76ers actually had more fouls called on them than the wolves. also i don't know if you can really argue much about the other fouls rudy picked up.

lots of and ones for embiid--but that doesn't really address his ability to hit the mid range jumper. if rudy gets out there to contest that shot he'll be vulnerable to more whistles. i think finch would have to come up with an alternative plan to keep him more contained on that shot. 11-14 last night.

[OliverMiller]

Made me laugh

[boxter432]

in a hypothetical 7 game series, one would hope that a national stage would reign in the refs ridiculous bias towards him, he'd be easier to limit with defenders not always in foul trouble, plus he'd find himself in more foul trouble.

could be the case, since sixers have made absolutely zero noise in the playoffs despite making it every year since 2017. Embiid outside of one year (where they got swept by bos in the 1st rd and he averaged 30pts) averages like 7 less points in the playoffs compared the reg seasons (last year 33.1 reg seasons, 23.7 playoffs) and despite usually being a top 3 seed haven't ever made it out of the 2nd round.

[Bon Scott]

RG nails them

[somuchyummy]

wt