Big man Joel Embiid talks having some continuity with Sixers' roster

PHILADELPHIA -- It's important to have continuity in today's NBA. It doesn't matter how much talent a team has, but when there is constant roster turnover, then it makes life tough for everybody on the roster.

Joel Embiid has stated in the past that he would like some continuity with the roster around him and he seems to be enjoying it in this Round 1 playoff series with the Boston Celtics. Whenever the Celtics have sent doubles, Embiid has picked them apart and found his teammates in the right spots every time.

One example was a Kelly Oubre Jr. slam when he cut baseline off a Boston double. Embiid threw a behind-the-back pass to Oubre as it felt like the big fella just knew where his teammate was.

"It helps when you got the same trainer," Embiid said of his chemistry with Oubre. "So, the way I see the game, or the way I communicate to him or Drew (Hanlen) sending film so he knows what I’m talking about, but it’s easy. They double. Just cut and I still feel like we didn’t make them pay tonight. I wasn’t efficient, and then on the kickouts, we barely made shots, but we’re gonna do a better job and actually make them next game."

Oubre has been in Philadelphia for three seasons now, which is a big help in terms of building chemistry within the roster. Even Paul George, in his second season in Philadelphia, has been enjoying success next to Embiid. After a disastrous 2024-25 season, one would not have blamed the Sixers if they decided to pull the plug on the George experiment in Philadelphia, but they stayed patient and it's paying off right now with that continuity.

"I think that’s been the key for me," Embiid stated. "I mentioned it so many times. We’ve had a lot of roster turnover over the years. We got a team, doesn’t work once, and we decide to start over. So, obviously, I’ve been with Tyrese for a little bit now, so we have that connection. So, we know what to do in every situation. Kelly has been here, PG has been great, so I think, especially, in these moments, we made our run to start the third, just being calm and knowing what to do each time."