With the Wizards advancing to the first round of the playoffs and a date with the Sixers, figuring out how to stop Joel Embiid will be chief among Washington’s priorities. Scott Brooks is sure to utilize all three of his centers in the series, though newcomer Daniel Gafford could be the key big in Washington’s rotation.
“He’s gonna talk a lot of trash,” Gafford said. “That’s for sure. But Joel Embiid is one of the best bigs in this league, and we can’t come out thinking he’s gonna take it easy on us…He’s gonna come out and play.”
Washington lost to Philadephia in each of their three meetings this season, however, Gafford was still in Chicago when they occurred. The 22-year-old suited up for two Bulls-Sixers contests earlier this season; Embiid only played in one of those and while it was his signature 50-point game, Gafford only saw five minutes in that contest.
Gafford, who was drafted by the Bulls with the No. 38 overall pick in the 2019 draft, didn’t face off against Embiid during his rookie season. The Bulls only played the Sixers twice during the pandemic-shortened season and Gafford didn’t play in either of those contest.
Robin Lopez and Alex Len will both see time against Embiid in the Wizards-Sixers series and Brooks will certainly need the 18 fouls from his three bigs. Yet, if Washington wants to shock the world (or at least the potholes along I-95), it’ll be Gafford’s play against the MVP candidate that’ll set the stage.
Kudos to Tommy Sheppard for the Gafford trade
The trade deadline was filled with many notable deals and Tommy Sheppard shipping away Troy Brown Jr. and Moritz Wagner for Gafford and Chandler Hutchison went relatively under the radar. The move has clearly paid dividends and while Gafford hasn’t had a true consistent role since coming to the Wizards (part of that was injury-related), he’s been a special find for the franchise.
“Give him credit. He’s coachable, he wants to get better, he has an enthusiasm for the game,” Scott Brooks told FortyEightMinutes and other media via zoom. “Smart kid, smart. Quiet, he’s quiet but you can get some stuff out of him. He comes up with some good basketball stuff and I like that about him. He’s still learning this game and I’m still learning him as a person. From what I’ve seen the last couple of months, that’s a big, big, big, big-time pickup by [general manager] Tommy [Sheppard] for our group.”
