Joel Embiid Gets High Praise After 51 Point Game
Last year Joel Embiid was the MVP. This year he is even better. And that much was clear last night. Joel Embiid is on a pretty historic stretch. 12 straight games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds. It is the longest such streak since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it in 16 straight games in 1972. The only other players to have at least 12 straight games like that are Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, and Walt Bellamy.
People dismissed it for most of this stretch because he was playing the Pistons, Hornets, Wizards, and Hawks. Those people conveniently leave out the fact he was sitting in most 4th quarters. But last night they played the Timberwolves, who entered the game with the number 1 rated defense and a 20-5 record. He dropped 51 points, and 12 rebounds while shooting 68% from the field with former Defensive Player of The Year Rudy Gobert guarding the paint
After the game, Nick Nurse had some pretty lofty praise for him:
Joel Embiid currently averages 35.1 points per game. That is 2.4 more points per game than anyone else in the NBA. It would be the most by any player since James Harden averaged 36.1 points per game in the 2018-2019 season. And he would become the first center to average over 35 points per game apart from Wilt Chamberlain, who did it 5 times.
He also averages 11.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and 5.9 assists per game. The dominant performance against the Timberwolves was just the latest example of how great he has been
Nick Nurse was not the only one with high praise of Joel after the game, here is what Tyrese Maxey had to say:
And even Anthony Edwards had nothing but praise for Embiid after the game:
“My brother was just texting me like, ‘I ain’t ever seen nothing like it.’ He’s unstoppable, man. I don’t see how they lose a game, honestly… This is after a loss so I don’t want to talk about him… but he just comes and handles his business… I love to see him play, he is special”
Anthony did throw a dig about drawing fouls in there. But the sentiment was clear. Embiid is unstoppable. And even if you cut his FTs in half, he would still have 43 points on 25 shots.
There are so many so-called Sixers fans jaded from how the playoffs ended. And that is understandable. But if you aren’t tuning in, you are missing out. Embiid is doing something special nearly every night.
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The All-Time Roster Of NBA Players From Philadelphia
PG- Earl Monroe- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
Earl “The Pearl” Monroe has quite the NBA resume. Hall of Famer, 4-time All-Star, NBA Champion, a member of the 75th Anniversary Team, and Rookie of the Year, just to name a few of his accolades. He was more of a shooting guard, but you are not going to supplant the next guy as the team’s shooting guard. Instead, he moves over to Point Guard. Is he the ideal facilitator? No. But this team won’t exactly need that with the players they have. So instead you just get another elite scorer onto the court
SG- Kobe Bryant- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
When you think of Basketball players from Philly, you think of Kobe. He is one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history, and led his team to 5 NBA Finals wins. From coming up playing at Lower Merion, to dominating an entire era of the NBA, Kobe is a legend. He may have played his pro basketball in LA, but he will always be part of Philly too. As evident by how he celebrated the Eagles’ first Super Bowl.
PF- Rasheed Wallace- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
We have lots of scoring on this team, so it’s time to also add some great defensive players. Wallace had a Defensive Rating of just over 100 in his career. Rudy Gobert had the lowest Defensive rating in the NBA last year at 103. It’s a different era with more scoring, but it goes to show the caliber of defense Wallace brought to the table. He was no slouch on offense either. He is the only player on this starting 5 that is not yet in the Hall of Fame. But he does have a decent case. And even if he never does make it, he is still a fantastic player and among the best Power Forwards of his era.
Bench- Richard “Rip” Hamilton- Coatsville, Pa
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Rasheed was not the only Philly representation on the Pistons team that won it all in 2004. Because Coatsville native Rip Hamilton was there too. For this team, he would bring scoring and shooting off the bench. Rip led all scorers for that Pistons team in the playoffs in 2004.
Bench- Kyle Lowry- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
We already talked about Kyle Lowry when we did the All-Time roster for active guys from the area. The difference is in this case you get Lowry in his prime. Lowry has made 6 All-Star teams, 1 All-NBA team, and won it all with the Raptors in 2019. Not a bad guy to have coming off of your bench.
Bench- Mikal Bridges- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Like with Lowry, we already talked about Bridges when we made the active team of guys from the area. He would bring All-NBA Caliber defense, and some scoring, off the bench. He was the star for the active team, but on a team of Hall of Famers here, he would be one hell of a role player.
Bench- Jameer Nelson- Chester, Pa
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
We can’t talk Philly basketball and leave out St. Joe’s Jameer Nelson. In 2004 Nelson helped lead St Joes to the Elite 8 for the first time since 1981. He has a very strong case for being the best player in the school’s history. He went on to have a solid NBA career too, mostly playing with the Magic. He is not a Super Star or Hall of Famer like other guys on this list. But he is more than deserving of a place on the All-Time Philly team.
Bench- Aaron Mckie- Philadelphia, Pa
(Photo by Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images)
You can’t make one of these lists and leave McKie off. Mckie may not have had as prolific of an NBA career as the rest of this team. But he was a solid player and won 6th Man of the Year. He was also a star while at Temple alongside Eddie Jones. And he has been around Philadelphia basketball longer than anyone else here. He played in College here, coached in College here, played in the pros, and coached in the pros here. How many other guys can say they did that in any Basketball city? That is deserving of the 11th roster spot.
