PJ Tucker on Embiid: “Nobody can guard Joel one-on-one, there’s no way. I’m sorry. There’s not a disrespect to Al or anybody, but I’ve guarded him for a lot of years, and when he’s aggressive and assertive, it’s impossible. I saw him two or three plays in a row not do that, and we can’t have that.”

Source: https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/2023/05/07/pj-tucker-explains-his-pep-talk-with-joel-embiid-late-in-win-over-celtics/

“Nobody can guard Joel one-on-one,” Tucker said. “There’s no way. I’m sorry. There’s not a disrespect to Al or anybody else, but I’ve guarded him for a lot of years, and when he’s aggressive and assertive, it’s impossible. I saw him two or three plays in a row not do that, and we can’t have that. We can’t have that. Not with the season on the line. We can’t have that.”

In the extra session, Embiid had four of the nine points Philadelphia scored in overtime as the Sixers went on to win it 116-115. Tucker also had a big And-1 to tie the game at 105 in regulation. He gave the Sixers a huge boost with his toughness and his ability to make the little plays.

“Just will, determination, just wanting to win,” Tucker said. “I just got back in the game, so I had to leave an imprint somehow. Usually, it’s an offensive rebound in those moments when James (Harden), Joel, or Tyrese (Maxey) are attacking.”