Jazz shootaround: Derrick Favors eager for chance to take on Sixers' Embiid

Philadelphia • Derrick Favors is ready for the challenge of facing Joel Embiid.

That is if Joel Embiid plays Monday night against the Utah Jazz. The Philadelphia 76ers star big man is listed as questionable with knee soreness and will be a game-time decision.

Even if he doesn’t play, that should mean little to the Jazz. After all, the Sixers, without Embiid, walked out of Vivint Smart Home Arena with a 104-97 win against the Jazz two weeks ago. JJ Redick and Dario Saric peppered Utah with a bunch of 3-pointers, and the Jazz had difficulty defending Ben Simmons in that loss.

If Embiid plays, the Jazz will be facing one of the best big men in the league.

“He’s a great player,” Favors said. “He can score, he’s a great defender, he’s a guy who can do it all. He’s been an impact player, and I’m going to have to be ready.”

Embiid has taken the NBA by storm this season. He’s averaging almost 23 points, 11 rebounds and almost two blocks a game. He scored 46 points and added 15 rebounds, seven assists and seven blocked shots against the Los Angeles Lakers last week. He then went to Instagram and talked about it.

For as good as Embiid is on the court, he’s just as good on social media, consistently trolling opponents in a funny way. Golden State star Kevin Durant said the Warriors wanted to win Saturday’s game against Philadelphia because otherwise “Joel would’ve gone straight to Twitter.”

The 23-year-old Embiid has made a significant impact on the league, but he has to stay healthy.

The priority for Utah (7-10) is building on Saturday’s 125-85 win over the Orlando Magic. The Jazz played their best game of the season against Orlando, with the offense and defense showing up concurrently for one of the few games this season.

A win Monday night would put the Jazz at 2-2 on their road trip, which would be a step in the right direction considering how it started.

“I think we always want to try and be better than the last game,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “We want to have constant improvement.”