“We’re gonna hammer his a**!” – Spurs coach Gregg Popovich’s plan to stop Joel Embiid ages badly as Philly star drops whopping 70 points

Victor Wembanyama's first outing against Joel Embiid turned out to be a franchise record night for the 76ers big man.

“We’re gonna hammer his a**!” – Spurs coach Gregg Popovich’s plan to stop Joel Embiid ages badly as Philly star drops whopping 70 points

Gregg Popovich wanted to keep Embiid in check. (image via Open Source, X)

Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid dropped a franchise record 70 points on the San Antonio Spurs. His career-high performance came against probably one of the greatest coaches of all time. Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich hilariously revealed what their game plan was to take on Embiid.

Popovich was talking to reporters during the pre-match press conference. When a reporter asked Popovich what he was looking forward to as Victor Wembanyama was going up against Embiid for the first time in his career, Popovich answered;

We're gonna hammer his a**! I told Wemby to stick him, put your b**t right in his stomach, back him down over the rim, and just throw him through the rim. That's what you should look forward to tonight.
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Popovich asked the reporters with a smile to not mention these comments to Wembanyama. Obviously, the legendary coach was merely being sarcastic. He was not going to actually reveal his plan to stop the 76ers big man. The whole conversation brought out the laughs from all quarters of the media in the room.

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Victor Wembanyama is arguably the best shot-blocker in the league right now. Add his length to the equation, and it was supposed to be a great matchup between the two big men. The rookie does not have the weight advantage or skillset of Embiid. Still, his ability to move at a better rate than Embiid would have been an advantage. In the end, none of it mattered.

Joel Embiid dominated Wembanyama with 70 points, 18 rebounds, and 5 assists on a career night. He set the franchise record for the most points scored by a 76ers player in history. Embiid also had to go up against a lot of double-teams during the game. Despite all that and coach Popovich’s defensive acumen, Embiid came out on top.

Fans loved every bit of Embiid’s performance against Popovich’s Spurs

The 76ers won the game 133-123. Such was Embiid’s dominance that he scored more than 6 of the highest scorers combined that Spurs fielded in the game. Nothing could stop the big man from obliterating the Spurs’ defensive game plan. Gregg Popovich might have jokingly mentioned his game plan in the press conference, but Embiid made sure whatever came his way was pushed aside.

Joel Embiid racked up 70 points despite going up against leading shot-blocker Wembanyama and several double-teams
Joel Embiid racked up 70 points despite going up against leading shot-blocker Wembanyama. (image via Open Source, X)

Fans did not stop to poke fun at the legendary head coach’s proposed tactics. They took to social media to troll coach Popovich and the Spurs defense. Check out some of the comments below;

Fans had a field day with both Embiid’s performance, as well as Gregg Popovich’s apparent plans to stop him. A great day for basketball fans indeed.

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