The Timing May Be Right for Sixers
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - FEBRUARY 10: James Harden #1 and Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers speak during the third quarter against the New York Knicks at Wells Fargo Center on February 10, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
There are so many factors that will come into play during a season in order for a team to be successful. Health, coaching, attitude, cohesion – all words that are related to a team that exudes success. But one of the keywords I would use this year in describing the good play of the 76ers so far this season is timing. Think about it. Think of many of the things that have gone well for the team this season. It will work itself back to the timing of it all.
James Harden had a strained ligament in his foot early in the season. He was sidelined for a couple of handful of games. The Sixers – pardon the pun – limped out to a 13-12 record. Harden observed what the team was about while in street clothes on the bench. When he returned, he realized exactly how he had to play in order for this team to be better. At times a scorer, at all times a facilitator not only for the league’s leading scorer in Joel Embiid but for Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris and shooters like Georges Niang.
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And speaking of Maxey, his play was living up to the high expectations early in the season before he fractured a bone in his foot that caused him to miss more than a month in the season. When he came back, the rust was visible. A probable and expected slump followed. An extraction from the starting lineup wasn’t due to punishment but more of an exercise in finding out how the third-year guard would handle it. The timing was perfect.
The team added a long wing defender midseason in Jalen McDaniels when a long, athletic wing defender was sorely needed. The Montrez Harrell experiment was scratched mid-season because the team was horrific on the defensive end when Joel Embiid was sent to the bench. The timing of it all couldn’t have been better. Paul Reed appears ready now to contribute as a backup who can give the team up to 15 minutes of play.
And the time is now for Embiid. He is playing, by far, the best basketball of his career. The fact that it’s aligned with the addition of James Harden from a year ago is no coincidence. Never in his playing days has Embiid benefitted from a teammate as much as he has by being alongside Harden. And having just celebrated his 29th birthday, the timing couldn’t have
been better.
The opening and closing of windows are often discussed when it comes to this Sixers organization. Well, the time is now. That proverbial window has never been more wide open.
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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.
Bob Cooney has been a part of the Philadelphia sports scene for more years than he wants to admit after 25 years in print media, and now in his seventh year at The Fanatic. Throughout the years, he has covered all sports from the World Series, multiple Final Fours and Regional Finals in men’s college basketball, to the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club and the 76ers. He takes his sports media knowledge and background to a new level by joining a conversation with the passionate fans of this great city. He writes about the Sixers, Eagles, Flyers, and Phillies for the Fanatic.