One of the offseason topics discussed throughout the Sixers world, and here on this website, was the dynamic of the two-man game involving Joel Embiid and his shooting guard, which changed from JJ Redick last year to Josh Richardson this year.

There were moments on film that suggested Richardson would able to replicate some of the dribble hand-off things Redick did so well last year, but he’s more of a pick and roll guy, so there was going to be a learning curve for Embiid to settle in with a different type of player this year. Add to that curve some necessary extra time for a center who doesn’t play in a heavy pick and roll scheme, but has spent the entirety of his career in Brett Brown’s motion offense instead.

You’re seeing growth and understanding between the pair, and Wednesday following the Milwaukee win, we got a good quote from Brett Brown, some basketball talk to explain how two of his starters are becoming more familiar with each other:

When you play with cross-back guards, we call it ‘bulldogging,’ so Joel holds the screen and then J-Rich is either gonna take off or he’s gonna bulldog and play cross-back game. That dynamic of a pick and roll partnership evolves. You look at the guys that take off out of stuff, Amar’e (Stoudemire) used to, Nerlens (Noel) used to, like it’s touch screens and they take off, they slip more than they set. I think with Joel we want him setting screens, I want him rolling as much as he can. The partnership with a guard, because J-Rich will bulldog and play cross-back games and take off, that growth, that knowledge, that familiarity takes time. I think they’re growing and I think (against Milwaukee) they had some good two-man actions and we’ll continue to put them in that environment.

It’s all very true. Redick was not a pick and roll guy, but a DHO player who would often receive the ball on a single read. There wasn’t a lot of dribbling or screen flipping or rolling, which only really happened on plays like this when he’d backdoor counter the DHO and have Joel give him the ball on the second read:

Even then, Embiid is only setting one screen, not necessarily flipping as a non-ball handler. Screening for the DHO game is a lot different than screening for the pick and roll game.

Here’s an example of what Brett is talking about with the “cross back,” a clip from the Milwaukee game where Richardson doesn’t like the first read, so he comes to the other side and takes off instead with Embiid sort of hovering at the three-point line:

That play doesn’t come off, but the point is to illustrate what Brett is talking about. Those are pick and roll plays the Sixers really didn’t show a lot of until Jimmy Butler came to town, so Joel is still figuring it out, and I think he’s becoming better at flipping, holding, rolling, and knowing when to pop.

Here’s the moment where Richardson decides to ‘bulldog’ instead and cross to the other side, after his defender goes under the screen. Embiid is slow to pick up on what his teammate wants to do and is stuck, mid-turn:

Said Embiid on these plays:

We’re still going, we’re still learning, I’m still learning how to play with him out of the pick and roll. He’s a guy that likes to cross back a lot, sometimes I’m caught off guard and he does it quite often, so I’m still getting used how to play with him. But it’s good, he’s been great for us and he needs to keep doing whatever he’s been doing.

That’s a good choice of words. He does look “caught off guard” at times, but it’s getting better.

One thing I saw on Wednesday was a sequence where the Sixers ran the same play two possessions in a row, just a simple stagger DHO that every NBA team uses. Richardson ran this in Miami under Erik Spoelstra:

That’s a great read by both Richardson and Embiid. They see George Hill cheating the Mike Scott screen, so Richardson doesn’t even run the DHO, he simply stays put in the corner for a catch and shoot three-pointer. Embiid learned those counters playing the hand off game with Redick in 2017 and 2018.

Look at where Hill is here when Embiid makes the simple counter read:

Same thing on the very next possession.

It’s a staggered corner DHO, and this time Hill doesn’t cheat, but gets caught trailing instead, so Richardson uses Embiid and then finds him rolling to the basket for an alley oop, which he actually dunked with his wrist:

When Brett talks about Amar’e Stoudemire and Nerlens Noel slipping screens, this is what he’s describing. These are “touch screens” where the bigs get a little bit a bump on the defender before they take off and roll to the basket. Joel does that off a DHO screen this time, but I think he’s getting better at doing it from pick and roll sets as well and recognizing when to go and when to stay.

Richardson on Embiid:

He’s a great player, can make plays anywhere. With me, when I’m handling and coming off, I’m just looking to see if he rolls, flares. That kind of determines where I’m gonna with it. And when he has (the ball), just try to find space. Because if they’re guarding him 1v1 he’s gonna get pretty much any shot he wants. If they double we find space around him.

It’s all good stuff, the Embiid and Richardson growth. Brown linked their minutes together on Wednesday, a substitution pattern that saw them exit and enter the floor at the same time, similar to how he liked to do it with Embiid and Redick. With both guys healthy and playing more consistently, you should see that pairing continue to evolve into January.