Success on the highest ranges of any sport requires a specific amount of self-confidence, even borderline conceitedness. Philadelphia 76ers large man Joel Embiid has by no means been afraid to let folks know the way good he’s, and he is backed it up on the courtroom for his previous six All-Star seasons.
After ending second to Denver Nuggets middle Nikola Jokic within the MVP race in every of the previous two seasons, Embiid is making a robust push to supplant his awards season rival this time round. While Jokic remains to be thought-about the favourite, moments just like the one which occurred within the 76ers’ 120-119 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night time may stick in voters’ minds.
Trailing by one with simply over seven seconds left within the fourth quarter, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers did not even take into consideration getting cute. He drew up a play to get his greatest participant the ball in the midst of the ground and let him go to work. That’s precisely what Embiid did, flattening a silky easy turnaround jumper with one second left on the clock.
The Blazers had been unable to get a shot off throughout the ensuing possession, giving Philly the win and Embiid one other feather within the cap of what has been one other really outstanding season. The large man completed with 39 factors, seven rebounds, 4 assists and three blocks on the night time, bringing his career-high scoring common to 33.3 factors per sport.
After the sport, Embiid — who sees double-teams on practically each possession — defined his strategy to dissecting defenses whereas throwing in a splash of trademark bravado:
“I’ve stated it: I believe I’m unguardable,” Embiid stated, by way of Sam DiGiovanni of ClutchPoints. “It’s all about utilizing that and making an attempt to make my teammates higher. With that comes a variety of double- and triple-teams each single sport. So it is about how do I make my teammates higher each sport.”
The phrase “unguardable” might sound a bit hyperbolic, however on this context Embiid possible means he cannot be guarded by one particular person, which he is confirmed all through his profession. Friday night time’s game-winner completely illustrates what makes Embiid practically unimaginable to deal with for any defender.
Not wanting the 7-foot, 280-pound Embiid to easily bully his method to the basket, Blazers coach Chauncey Billups put 7-foot, 290-pound middle Jusuf Nurkic on him throughout the ultimate possession. Here’s the place Embiid showcased his first distinctive talent — mobility. Embiid is as fast and agile as any participant of his dimension we have ever seen, and he simply will get previous Nurkic with a few sturdy dribbles.
As anticipated, Nurkic receives assist in the type of Damian Lillard. This is the place a traditional 7-footer would plow into the smaller guard, selecting up a cost to lose the sport for his group.
But not Embiid.
He stops his practically 300-pound body on a dime, utilizing his superior footwork to carry out a picture-perfect pirouette away from the protection. At this level, Nurkic is just too far-off to contest, so it is merely as much as Embiid to hit a fadeaway jumper off one foot with the sport on the road. No large deal.
In addition to his different skills, Embiid is making 47 p.c of his midrange jumpers this season, placing him on par with midrange maestros comparable to Devin Booker, Kawhi Leonard and DeMar DeRozan. So for him, that is just about a layup.
Put all of it collectively, and it is one of many prettiest game-winners we have seen.
We’re not right here to litigate the ever-present MVP debate between Embiid, Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo. But it is protected to say that Embiid has a professional probability this season to take dwelling the {hardware} for the primary time, and moments just like the one on Friday night time solely serve to additional his case.
