Joel Embiid Just Reminded Us All How Special He Is
Last night was one of the more interesting early regular season matchups the Sixers will have this year as the Utah Jazz came to town. The Jazz, who came into the game 10-4 on the young season and in 1st place in the Western Conference, have a roster that reads more like an NBA2K fantasy draft team that had the 30th overall pick. It’s a team full of cast offs from Cleveland, Minnesota, and other teams around the league following Utah’s teardown of the Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert pairing this offseason, and yet, they somehow fit together. They’re the enigma of the NBA Season so far, and with the Sixers off to a slow start (6-7 heading into last night), there were plenty of things to be learned from the matchup. Well, when the dust settled, there was only 1 big takeaway: Joel Embiid is not of this earth.
There were questions if Embiid would even play in the game following his 42 point performance the night before against the Atlanta Hawks, especially considering he is still working his way back from a sickness that sidelined him for multiple games. Well, he was in the starting lineup, and he more than answered the question of his health. For all that the Jazz have done so well to get out to a hot start, they are abysmal at the center position. Kelly Olynyk shouldered most of the load of defending Joel Embiid, or rather he tried to. It didn’t exactly work out for the veteran Olynyk. Embiid was cooking from the opening tip, and there was no man in the building, or possibly on the planet, that could’ve stopped him. It was a remarkable looking performance from Embiid considering he was on the back end of a back to back, but as the game wound down, it went from remarkable to historical.
Embiid was a monster down the stretch, leading the Sixers to an awesome 105-98 win, but was more awesome was the final stat line for the big man. He finished with 59 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and 7 blocks. Stop, and read that again. That is a nearly IMPOSSIBLE stat line. Prior to last night, you could’ve made the argument that it was impossible, considering no one has ever done that. The man was 2 assists, 3 blocks, and a missed free throw away from a 60 POINT QUADRUPLE DOUBLE. IN WHAT WORLD?? Not Wilt, not Jordan, not LeBron, not NOBODY ever put together that stat line. On top of last night’s heroics, it also brought Joel Embiid’s total to 101 points in about 24 hours-worth of basketball. The Sixers are not a perfect basketball team, and they only just reached .500 with last night’s win. There are still plenty of questions about what this group will achieve. But last night, Joel Embiid reminded us that at his best, he is the best basketball player on the planet right now. That’s a pretty good guy to have on your side.
