Rich Hofmann on What Makes This Sixers Team Different Than Past Years
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 23: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers blocks Ja Morant #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center on February 23, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Sixers are on quite a roll. They have won 9 of 10, and have barely lost any games since the new year. Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Tyrese Maxey are all playing at high levels. Everything seems to be working. Still, Sixers fans have seen great teams before. We have been super confident heading into the playoffs, and every year it ends in the 2nd round. So what makes this year different? Rich Hofmann from The Athletic joined us to address that very question. And for him, it all starts with how great this offense is.
“The reason why it looks different is that this team’s offense right now is completely overwhelming. I think they are up to number 3 right now on the season. If you look at the past month, they are the best by a mile… That is what is different. Those past teams… had Ben Simmons. And there was a ceiling to how good those teams could be offensively. There is no ceiling to this team’s offense. They are absolutely dominant. It is just wild how well Embiid is playing. So unbelievably effortless… You have Harden playing at an incredible level. Maxey is going right now. This team’s offense is better than it has ever been. In those Ben Simmons years, you are talking about the 7th or 8th best offense. They are the best offense in the league right now.”
And Rich Hofmann also addressed the great MVP debate. Will this be the year Embiid finally breaks through? Rich Hofmann thinks so…
“I think so. We will find out when the straw poll comes out on ESPN. Reading the tea leaves, and consuming as much national media as I do… Jokic had a rough couple of weeks here. His team keeps losing, and his defense is starting to be more under the spotlight. At that same time, Embiid is running off these 35-point games, and the Sixers are at 9-1 in March. I do think he is a favorite right now. I don’t think he has wrapped it up at this point… But if I had to case, if there was a vote today, Joel would actually get it. And I think he deserves it too.”
The Sixers find themselves with a narrow lead over Boston for the 2-seed and have the 1-seed and the Bucks in their sights. There are just 12 games left, and the Sixers are playing their best ball at the right time. We will have to wait to see if it is any different this year in the playoffs. But from what we are seeing, there is good reason to be optimistic.
You can listen to the full interview with Rich Hofmann below…
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5 Numbers That Make the Case That Joel Embiid Should Win MVP
Two years ago Joel Embiid put on a crazy performance. Somehow it was not good enough to win MVP. Last year he played even better, becoming more efficient facing double teams. That still was not enough for him to win MVP. And now for a 3rd straight season, he is putting up historic numbers, while leading his team to a top seed in the competitive Eastern Conference. And it is starting to look like it may finally be enough to bring home the trophy for him. After Nikola Jokic was the odds-on favorite all season, Embiid has suddenly seen the odds flip to his favor. As I write this, Embiid is somewhere around -220 on most Sportsbooks to win MVP.
But now we have to deal with cries of sympathy votes for him getting MVP. Jokic stans and Nuggets fans are preemptively putting Embiid down. Clowns like George Karl and Gilbert Arenas are now trying to paint him as lazy. But none of their tears or their random made-up stats can change how great Embiid is. If Embiid is putting up performances like this, while being “lazy” then he must be the best player of All-Time. Because what he is doing this year is unbelievable. Embiid is without a doubt, the greatest basketball player on the face of this Earth right now. No one is doing the things he does.
And to prove it we are going to use the things Jokic fans love most. Numbers. Not their made-up stats like Raptor. No, real numbers that we can actually explain the meaning of. The eye test will never be enough for them. Because they don’t actually watch basketball to utilize the eye test. So I broke out my calculator to make the MVP case for Joel Embiid using their language. Stats. Here are 5 numbers that more than make the case that Joel Embiid is the MVP.
Tyrone Johnson is the host of “The Best Show Ever” on 97.5 The Fanatic. He has been with the station for the past 8 years. Before working at the Fanatic, Tyrone produced political radio, did financial reports, and was assistant chief engineer of another radio station. As a content creator for 97.5 The Fanatic, Tyrone writes articles on the Sixers, Eagles, Phillies, and Flyers.