Wizards Must Stifle Joel Embiid to Win vs. 76ers

Having been one of the most injury-prone players in the league over the last few years, Embiid's consistence absences have given many opposing teams leverage against a Sixers franchise that had grown reliant on his dominance in the paint.

Now, it appears, Washington will not benefit from that luxury. The red, white and blue will have to find a way to reckon with the 2023 MVP's full force in their fourth game of the new season. Currently 1-2 (to Philly's 3-0) the Wizards are, by all means, trying to avoid a similarly disastrous finish to this campaign as the last two have been.

Part of that process is finding ways to win tough games like these. In this case specifically, D.C. will look to sophomore center Alex Sarr to, in large part, contain Embiid on the defensive end.

Half-Baked Efficiency

Offensively, Sarr has looked the "face of the franchise" part through his second season in Washington. In three games - an admittedly small sample size, but the trends are present - the big has averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and 4.3 assists on 54.3% shooting from the field.

On the defensive side of the ball, however, Sarr's frame has led to his being, for lack of a better word, pushed around in the painted area by opposing bigs.

With Joel Embiid now taking residence alongside him in Washington, Sarr will likely face his biggest challenge in that regard yet. If the Wizards truly want to contain him, they'll likely have to rely on a committee of collapsing defenders to keep Embiid out of rhythm when he isn't scoring outside.

For a Washington team that has scored an average of 117 points through three games, any game is winnable if the offense continues to shoot the lights out. It'll likely be a matter as to whether or not the home team can stop Joel Embiid; all eyes are on Alex Sarr to carry more weight than most players in his position are asked to.