Lebronnygoat wrote:Embid averaged 32/10/5, on his usual efficiency in the last 5 games before the play ins.
Is that a question? MJ played bad in those 1996 games, and certainly didn’t do any late game performances like at least Embid did today. I mean what do you want me to say about MJ in 1997? He was more efficient than Embid and was scoring mid-sometimes high 30’s in those games unlike Embid. Certainly MJ wasn’t the same at all as he used to be or the goat lvl player in the last 3 years, though, in 1998 actually is more impressive than 97 Jordan In totality, and 96 Jordan in the finals.
1) He shot under 50% in 3 of the 4 games he played after returning from his 29-game absence, and played under 30 minutes per game in two of them. He was 11/25 for 29 points in the second game. He also played 38 minutes, which is a lot, and the most he's played since January 16th. And yes, Jordan shot in volume; that's what he did, for good or for ill. Embiid did not need to shoot in volume, particularly whilst not shooting well.
2) He was at 53.7% TS last night despite shooting 35.3% from the field. Jordan was actually at 53.2% TS in the 97 Finals, 53.8% in the 96 Finals and 51.6% TS in the 1998 Finals. Fairly similar efficiency, as it happens.
3) I don't think 98 was more impressive. He chucked a lot and both teams slowed the game down quite a bit, leaving it something of a disgusting grind-fest. He also had 2 guys scoring 15+ ppg for him, and Malone had one guy managing double-digit PPG with Hornacek at 10.7 ppg. Support mattered. And Chicago smashed the offensive glass against Utah.
EDIT:
4) Forgot to mention, Jordan was below playoff league average TS% during the 98 Finals, FWIW. 52.9% TS was average during the playoffs in 98. So that was -1.3% rTS, FWIW. He shot a lot. He didn't score well. The series was ugly-as, so it worked out. His low turnover rate helped a lot, but man, he was not performing well by any standard. He was old, Pippen wasn't playing well, Utah was a very good defense... And because it was before the 24/7 coverage era, and because it was Jordan, no one wanted to say anything. There are reasons to justify a little bit of a rougher performance, right?
But that's my point. The reasons aren't the same, but the idea of their presence remains. Embiid had a rough night. They happen. We've grown into the habit of crucifying people every time they do, but he came up when it counted in the 4th (kind of like 2011 Dirk, actually) and his health remains in some doubt. And as Ohayo astutely noted, he was quite relevant on D.
