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Joel Embiid Named Eastern Conference Player Of The Week For 3rd Time

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Author Andrew Salciunas and Dylan MacKinnon
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 15: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots during the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets at the Wells Fargo Center on January 15, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Joel Embiid is somehow having a career year. He somehow keeps getting better. To the point that this season he is putting up historic numbers we have not seen since Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. This past week was particularly good. He scored at least 30 in all 4 games, and over 40 in two of them. All on the way to a 4-0 week for the Sixers. Which is why for the 3rd time this season,  the NBA named him the Eastern Conference Player of the Week.

The surprising part of that news is it is only 3 times. It feels like he has been the best player in the NBA nearly every week, apart from the few that he sat out. Embiid is currently averaging over a point per minute. If he keeps that up, he would become only the second player to do so in a full season. Wilt is the only other player to accomplish that feat.

And you cant even say he is only doing it against bad teams. This past week he dropped 41 on the Nuggets. At the end of December he scored 51 on the Timberwolves. Against top 4 defenses this season, he averages 33 points and 10 assists (per Statmuse).

Joel Embiid is simply on another level right now. He is well on track to winning his 2nd MVP in a row. Provided he doesn’t miss too many more games. He is doing something no other player has done in decades. So it is no surprise when he racks up these individual awards. At the end of the day he will be judged by how he plays in the playoffs. But the type of basketball he is playing should have Sixers fans excited for what that will look like this year. And Nick Nurse has put an emphasis on having him ready to play at a high level in the playoffs.

Watch Andrew Salciunas live on the 97.5 The Fanatic YouTube page on Weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

10 Things Daryl Morey Said When He Joined Us From The Sixers Gala

  • How He Feels About Th Season So Far

     “Coach Nurse has the group playing at a very high level. Joel is as locked in as I have ever seen. Maxey is playing as well as we hoped. People right now are taking for granted how he is playing. We think he is a for sure All-Star, and going into this year that is what we needed. Then you have guys like Tobias who has really stepped up lately. Nic Batum. Pat Beverly feels like he was born to play in Philly. So it is pretty exciting. “

    Ky Carlin on Twitter: "Patrick Beverley on the keys to slowing Jamal Murray late: "No key. I've been locking his ass up for years."On his approach against a guy like Murray: "No approach. Normal day." #Sixers / Twitter"

    Patrick Beverley on the keys to slowing Jamal Murray late: "No key. I've been locking his ass up for years."On his approach against a guy like Murray: "No approach. Normal day." #Sixers

  • If Injuries Have Hampered Their Ability To Evaluate This Team

    “Obviously you’d love to have perfect health from day 0. But injuries in the regular season, as long as they are not things that will affect you going forward, I think can be healthy for a team. Guys get a chance to step up and play. Jaden Springer has given us good minutes. Mo Bamba recently gave us good minutes. Those guys could be asked to play in the playoffs.”

    TSN on Twitter: "Mo Bamba with the DENIAL ❌ pic.twitter.com/nOg6rMQ74g / Twitter"

    Mo Bamba with the DENIAL ❌ pic.twitter.com/nOg6rMQ74g

  • Calls The Celtics The Team To Beat

    “I think we are one of the few championship contenders. But you have to be realistic about where you are relative to other teams. Boston is the favorite right now to come out of the East… Boston is playing at a very high level, it’s a team we focus a lot on. I think Milwaukee is also right there with us.”

    StatMuse on Twitter: "Celtics this season:2nd in ORTG2nd in DRTG1st in NETRTGCurrently have the highest net rating by a team since the 2017 Warriors. pic.twitter.com/dWWOG7Yp7w / Twitter"

    Celtics this season:2nd in ORTG2nd in DRTG1st in NETRTGCurrently have the highest net rating by a team since the 2017 Warriors. pic.twitter.com/dWWOG7Yp7w

  • On If They Know What Direction They Will Go At The Trade Deadline

    “We have a sense of it. Guys have played enough minutes. We have seen the players play within (Nick Nurse’s) system. Coach has added a lot of things both offensively and defensively… Thats really the only thing we do. We just had a 5-hour meeting focusing on the trade deadline. That is coming up here.”

  • On The Players They Added in The James Harden Trade

    “The two you mentioned, (Nicolas Batum and Marcus Morris). Both are giving more than we thought going in. Marcus is from Philly. Yesterday he gave us a ton of great minutes. Nic has been maybe the best pairing with Joel for that kind of a player since Joel has been here. I know Joel feels that way. Covington when he was healthy he was giving us good minutes. KJ Martin, I feel bad for. He has played very well prior to this. Nick has a hard job figuring out who to play. But I do think if KJ had gotten all those minutes, we would be talking about him right now.”

    NBA on TNT on Twitter: "Emphatic rejection from Batum 😤 pic.twitter.com/MBDmOM2cwp / Twitter"

    Emphatic rejection from Batum 😤 pic.twitter.com/MBDmOM2cwp

  • Calls Joel Embiid The Best Player He Has Ever Had

    “For players I have had on a team, I felt I would never have someone beat James Harden. I have had a lot of great players. Tracy McGrady, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard. But what Joel is doing right now is hard to fathom. On both ends, offense and defense. The approach he brings each night, and the leadership he has show to this group. I never thought it would happen, but it has been great.”

    Philadelphia 76ers on Twitter: "47 PTS | 18 REB | 5 AST | 3 STL | 2 BLK we're glad @JoelEmbiid starts for us.🎥 presented by @palottery pic.twitter.com/1TJq971Kce / Twitter"

    47 PTS | 18 REB | 5 AST | 3 STL | 2 BLK we're glad @JoelEmbiid starts for us.🎥 presented by @palottery pic.twitter.com/1TJq971Kce

  • On Why They Had So Much Faith Maxey Would Take This Leap

    “It is his work ethic, how he has added to his game every year. I have to give Coach Nurse a lot of credit. He felt like when he watched Tyrese, he could utilize him even more. Guys going into their 4th year can sometimes step up, and he did. It’s been amazing to watch. Nick and Joel told him, you have the ultimate green light. Take every other shot. Put the fear of god into the defense. You can be that guy, you should be that guy, and he is doing it right now. “

    NBC Sports Philadelphia on Twitter: "IT'S TYRESE MAXEY'S WORLD AND WE'RE JUST LIVIN' IN IT 🌎 👌 pic.twitter.com/HnY5T5wxpp / Twitter"

    IT'S TYRESE MAXEY'S WORLD AND WE'RE JUST LIVIN' IN IT 🌎 👌 pic.twitter.com/HnY5T5wxpp

  • On The Work Nick Nurse Has Done With Joel Embiid

    “He has always been a defensive innovator. So I knew that would come. He has utilized Joel in different ways. But is really on offense where I thought they clicked. In the off-season, Nurse said we need to prep you for the playoffs. We need to make you hard to guard in the playoffs. And that means being less predictable. So we need to spend all of this season working on different actions, so when we get to those games in April, May, and June, you’ll be ready to make any defense pay depending on what look they throw at you.”

    NBA on Twitter: "Joel Embiid delivered a stellar performance in his return to the lineup 🔥41 PTS / 10 REB / 57% FG / W▪️ He becomes the third player in NBA history to record 16+ consecutive games of 30+ points and 10+ rebounds in a single season pic.twitter.com/QgIDPhSc0V / Twitter"

    Joel Embiid delivered a stellar performance in his return to the lineup 🔥41 PTS / 10 REB / 57% FG / W▪️ He becomes the third player in NBA history to record 16+ consecutive games of 30+ points and 10+ rebounds in a single season pic.twitter.com/QgIDPhSc0V

  • On How Tobias Harris Has Played This Year

    “We are getting the best Tobias. Nick wasn’t as used to him. But I was like I promise you, whatever you tell Tobias to do, he is going to go out there and do it. You cant say that a lot of guys with his pedigree and the amount of money he makes. Some guys aren’t willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win, but he does.”

    Philadelphia 76ers on Twitter: "🚨 new season high 3️⃣5️⃣ points for Tobias Harris! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/PD9CmNpj24 / Twitter"

    🚨 new season high 3️⃣5️⃣ points for Tobias Harris! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/PD9CmNpj24

  • His Message To Fans Impatient With The Team Not Making a Move Yet

    “Evaluate us at the right time, which is the playoffs, and how the team looks going into them. Most of the trades that really help teams happen closer to the deadline. The ones that happen earlier than that usually have one team overpaying. Generally those don’t help you as much. We are evaluating everything. We obviously look at everything. I do want to tell the fans that calling the same team over and over again doesn’t actually help a deal get done… If a player becomes available that can help us, we will for sure be right there.”

  • You can watch the full interview with Daryl Morey below:

Andrew Salciunas, “The Choonis,” has done it all at the station - screening calls, working events as a member of the street team, producing 7 days a week, doing updates, and now hosting his own show. Now with a wife and kid, his life experiences are far different than when he first started, but this “regular guy” knows how to relate to anyone. He writes about the Flyers, Phillies, Sixers, and Eagles.

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Author Andrew Salciunas and Dylan MacKinnon
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