Daniel Gafford, who’s been a nice addition since coming to the Wizards at the trade deadline, had a tough task in guarding Joel Embiid in Game 1 of the Sixers-Wizards series. That will continue throughout the series and Gafford knows the level of talent he’s going up against.
“He’s the MVP,” Gafford told FortyEightMinutes and other media after the Wizards practice on Monday. “You gotta give him props because he worked his ass off to be in the position that he’s in.”
Gafford played 20 minutes in Game 1 and while he could see more time later in the series, coach Scott Brooks is carefully watching the former Bulls’ minutes.
“The way we play and he’s as athletic and in as great condition as any big in the league, but with the pace that we play, he’s still carrying around—I don’t know what exactly he weighs, 260?—that’s a lot of weight to play 10, 12 minutes at a time,” Brooks said. “We try to break it up as much as we can.”
The big man rotation in Washington continues to be key in the first-round series, as it’s an area where Philadelphia excels. Gafford, who was +14 on Sunday, is the Wizards’ best hope in slowing Embiid down but the Wizards need him later in the series just as much as they do in the current game.
More From Washington
- Could the Wizards be a destination for DeMar DeRozan? One Western Conference executive believes Washington would be a good fit. “It’ll definitely work. Definitely,” the executive told NBA journalist Quinton Mayo. DeRozan will be a free agent this summer and is expected to entertain offers from several teams, though it’s worth noting that the Wizards would have to move some contracts (likely Davis Bertans) if they were to make that kind of splash.
- Alex Len has essentially started for the Wizards since signing with Washington mid-season and he spoke with FortyEightMinutes and other media (on Saturday) about his arrival and the team turning things around. “When I came here, it was probably at the bottom or the second-worst team in the East,” Len said. “Then, climbing all the way back and making the eighth seed, it was a lot of fun. We battled through and guys stuck together.”
