Saturday Night Must Be A Turning Point For Joel Embiid
“Embiid vs Jokic On Saturday Night is a watershed moment for 2023 MVP race”
The Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Brooklyn Nets by 137-134 and although the game lacked the presence of Kevin Durant, the Sixers still looked good, but with several creases that need to be ironed out before we can consider this team playoff ready, and more importantly, conference championship ready.
Tyrese Maxey’s continued development is nothing short of spectacular. He is every bit the 3rd/4th scorer we need on this team, his 27 points, 5 assista and 3 rebounds were as big a contribution as anyobe made in that win, and it’s nice to see him getting some love from the national media for his contributions.
The same cannot be said for the buddy, James Harden. I’ll keep it funky with you in saying that “I’m never happy to watch this guy play”, but his role in our offense can be a useful one, in as far getting to the freethrow line and slowing the pace of the game down, because when you’re at the freethrow line you’re not allowing opponents to score in transition.
James is finding that going to the rim is his best friend right now, 23 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds is decent return, and while he managed 5-10 from 3-point distance, there are issues, bro.
In the 4th quarter though, we almost let go of this game, we were not trying to get Joel in post-up position in the 4th quarter and you know what, it nearly backfired hard.
Putting Joel in the post would help negate some of these dumb turnovers, where James is trying to pass to Joel, even when bro is surrounded by like 4 defenders.
And speaking of Joel, that 4th quarter put on display a lot of the things Hakeem Olajuwon was beefing about.
Joel putting himself in the low post also simplifies things for his teammates.
I don’t know if it’s because bro plays with Harden, or it’s the instructions from Doc Rivers but Joel Embiid’s aversion to going in to the low post needs to be dealt with once and for all..
I can’t understad why he thinks standing in the middle of a zone defense is the best way to break down defenses.
It’s actually annoying to watch “floor general” James Harden commit these crazy turnovers with the goal of getting him to shoot stepback 3′s. We are literally one of the worst 4th quarter teams in the league, and it’s a shot selection issue.
It is what it is.
On Saturday night, when the 76ers play the Denver Nuggets, it’ll give Joel a chance to rectify some of these percieved slights.
For all intents and purposes, Nikola Jokic has been encroaching on this here “best center in the league” territory for a while now and to be honest, Joel needs to send a message here.
Outperforming Jokic in a game that will have the attention of the national media, and a game that will be the only NBA’s only airing in that time slot, will do wonders to remind the league just whose claim to best big in the league is most credible.
It needs to happen, because you know what hurts Embiid’s case? Not being a starter in this year’s all star game, for the 2nd year in a row!!
Joel Embiid, who leads the league in scoring at 33.4 points per game, is not going to be a starter in the all-star game, for the 2nd year in a row.
That’s the extent that the Joel Embiid disrespect has gotten to.
Balling out against Jokic won’t be easy, and I doubt the Nuggets will opt to have Jokic guard Embiid 1-on-1 because that will not be advantageous.
The Sixers guarding Nikola Jokic, will be a whole other affair completely, and while I trust Embiid’s athleticism to help negate Jokic, I do have my doubts that our team defense will be able to stop Jokic from diming passes and manipulating the entire floor.
The Nuggets are currently 1st place in a very competetive Western conference, so this will no be an easy feat, while the Sixers can try to carry the confidence of a 6-game winning streak in to this upcoming game.
For Joel, the mandate is clear, play your best game of the season. Period
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NBA All-Star Game: LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant... and Tyrese Haliburton - who deserves to play in the Utah showpiece?
NBA All-Star Game: LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Kevin Durant... and Tyrese Haliburton - who deserves to play in the Utah showpiece? | @JamieOS14 #NBA #NBAAllStar
The All-Star game, and weekend in general, has been somewhat lacklustre and forgettable in recent years – but it can spark debate among NBA fans all around the world. With a reduced roster for the All-Star game, consisting of only 12 players compared to 15 in a NBA game, in-form players and fan favourites are frequently left out. These snubs are often a hot topic when the All-Star weekend comes…
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