Anthony’s Opening Diatribe- “The EmBEAST” Seals His MVP Case
Anthony Gargano Discussed how “The EmBEAST” sealed his MVP Case last night vs the Celtics… “Are you kidding me? The EmBEAST! 52. What a night. Oh my, what an incredible…
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – APRIL 04: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots over Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics during the second quarter at Wells Fargo Center on April 04, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)Anthony Gargano Discussed how "The EmBEAST" sealed his MVP Case last night vs the Celtics...
"Are you kidding me? The EmBEAST! 52. What a night. Oh my, what an incredible performance. If there was any doubt... and I know this isn't about MVP, the season is about getting out of the second round and beating the Celtics. But last night, the EmBEASt was out of his mind. He shot 20 of 25 from the floor. 52 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, and only 3 turnovers. 39 minutes of dominance by the EmBEAST. What a performance.
How in the world could anyone vote for Jokic? He is a great ball player and Giannis is a great ball player. But if we are talking about the most valuable player, he is hitting you with routine 50 burgers and 40 burgers. He is dominating every which way. That free throw line extended elbow shot is money every time. That is the shot they can get every time.
(Cue highlight reel of Embiid's night)
That 3 point play was ridiculous. Sixers had relinquished the lead. Then that play you heard. Perfect pass by Harden. EmBEAST falling away, Smart with the foul, Joel nails the free throw and puts the Sixers up 1. Then Embiid sets up Tucker twice with the 3-point barrage. He then has that incredible driving dunk, to put them up 98-92. Williams comes back with a 3. But then Embiid finds Tucker again.
Embiid was just amazing. Just giving you big moments like he always does. How is he not the MVP? Take him off the floor, and the Sixers are a lottery team. That is the definition of an MVP. He is the great art forger. Whatever signature move, he can replicate it. Even Steph Curry. He is just an amazing talent."
And you can listen to his full Opening Diatribe below...
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Devon Givens- 5 Reasons Joel Embiid Will Still Win MVP
This entire thing about the NBA’s 2022-23 Most Valuable Player race is really starting to get out of hand. The final three contestants are no longer up for debate. Most agree that it will come down to reigning back-to-back winner in Denver’s Nikola Jokic, another two-time winner in Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and the runner-up to Jokic the last two seasons in Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid. The discourse of why one is better than the other has been interesting to sit back and listen to. While each player's game is torn apart to make a case for the player one believes should be the eventual winner. The one player who seems to have the most negative talk thrown his way for why he shouldn’t top the others is the only one not to win the award – Embiid.
Before Monday night's game in Denver, it appeared that the six-time All-Star was in the lead to win his first MVP with eight games to play. But because Embiid didn’t suit up against Jokic for their rematch from January 28th in Philadelphia where Embiid got the best of Jokic, he’s no longer the favorite to win. How? This makes zero sense. How does one game determine that he has lost the advantage? Insane! With that said...
Let's get to five reasons why he’ll still capture his first Most Valuable Player award:
Has Been Mostly healthy
The first reason that’s brought up of why Embiid has been left trophyless is because he hasn’t been able to stay healthy during the regular season and play enough games to qualify. Well... the big fella has played 61 of a possible 75 games with seven left to play to get him to 68 during an 82-game schedule. While playing in these games, he’s been on a tear – leading the league in scoring at 33.3 points per game while jostling with Mavericks star Luka Doncic for the scoring crown. If Embiid were to win, it would be his second consecutive scoring title – all done at the center position.
Dominates Head to Head Matchups
In head-to-head matchups against Jokic and Antetokounmpo, Embiid has a 3-1 record and put on a show against Jokic in arguably his best game as a pro. The stat line read like this on that January afternoon – 47 points (18-31 FG, 4-7 3FG), 18 rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocked shots in just under 38 minutes played. And that was done in front of all of the basketball world to see, with many declaring that he had taken the MVP lead after that outstanding performance. No drop-off in his play – only elevating.
It is Embiid's Time
In situations like this, players get to a point when its simply their “time” – it might be Embiid’s “time.” Jokic and Antetokounmpo have both won the award twice, while the Sixers’ center has been good enough to win it but fallen short for various reasons. Sure, the other two are worthy of it every season – they all are. But it has the feel of it finally being Embiid’s year.
The Sixers are Rolling
The team has been rolling with the best record in the NBA since December 9th. On that date, Philadelphia was 12-12 with no real direction of where the team was headed. Fueled by Embiid’s January Eastern Conference Player of the Month and back-to-back Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards in early March, the 76ers sport a 37-13 record since then as we get ready to head into the playoffs. He has missed just six games since December 9th. The Sixers have had a lot of contributions from others, but we know how this works.
Not Doing Anything to Lose it
Let’s make this one really simple... Embiid hasn’t done anything to lose it and neither of the other two players have done anything superhuman to wrestle it away while he continues to also play at an extremely high level.
