Joel: unchained.

Bum Adebayo · Post #381 » by **Bum Adebayo** » Sun Jan 30, 2022 7:42 pm

Amazing gift, also nice tribute his number 21 amazing!

phillynative · Post #382 » by **phillynative** » Sun Jan 30, 2022 11:33 pm

eyeatoma wrote:Not sure if anyone has noticed, but Jo's running gait is back. The one he had a long time ago. Not sure if he had it during his rookie year, but I definitely remember it in Kansas.

Read on Twitter

What do you mean his running gait is back. Hasnt he always ran the same way?

eyeatoma · Post #383 » by **eyeatoma** » Mon Jan 31, 2022 1:13 am

phillynative wrote:
eyeatoma wrote:Not sure if anyone has noticed, but Jo's running gait is back. The one he had a long time ago. Not sure if he had it during his rookie year, but I definitely remember it in Kansas.

Read on Twitter

What do you mean his running gait is back. Hasnt he always ran the same way?

No, his gait was really smooth in Kansas. After the injury, it changed and was a lot more stiff. It was like he wasn't fully extending his legs out when running. Now it seems to be back to the way it was in Kansas.

blargh · Post #384 » by **blargh** » Fri Feb 4, 2022 7:48 pm

Does anyone have Zach Lowe’s little snippet about Embiid in today’s 10 Things?

Lou_23 · Post #385 » by **Lou_23** » Fri Feb 4, 2022 7:59 pm

blargh wrote:Does anyone have Zach Lowe’s little snippet about Embiid in today’s 10 Things?

Embiid cut his 3-point rate last season, and has found the perfect mix in his offensive arsenal. He has become one of the league's most dangerous and unpredictable trailing bigs. Embiid's trail 3 is a valuable weapon, but he keeps backpedaling defenders off-balance with rumbling drives:

Good freaking luck with that. The Sixers have scored 1.16 points when Embiid shoots out of a drive, or dishes to a teammate who lets fly -- 10th among 206 players who have recorded at least 100 drives, per Second Spectrum.

Embiid is averaging almost 14 isolations per 100 possessions -- eighth most among all players, and more than LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Kevin Durant, DeMar DeRozan, Kyrie Irving, and Jimmy Butler, per Second Spectrum. He is (by a hair) over the one-point-per-possession barrier on those plays, above some names on that list. This is a gigantic center going one-on-one with the frequency and efficiency of All-Star wings. My god.

Driving from the trail position helps Embiid flow into handoffs and fake "quarterback keepers" -- both wickedly effective, according to tracking data. Embiid is almost neck and neck with Jokic as the league's most efficient high-volume post-up scorer, and he's up to 45% on long 2s after a chilly start. There is just nothing you can do with him.

He is right there for MVP alongside Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Other candidates might emerge (or reemerge).

Can Philly really swallow a zero from Ben Simmons's roster spot all season, with Embiid doing this? I've bet (slightly) against an in-season Simmons trade from the start, but the prospect of inertia gets more painful with each epic Embiid game.

KramerDSP · Post #386 » by **KramerDSP** » Sun Feb 6, 2022 11:12 pm

Read on Twitter

Post #387 » by **Sixerscan** » Sat Feb 12, 2022 3:18 am

Read on Twitter

Joel actually unchained

eyeatoma · Post #388 » by **eyeatoma** » Sat Feb 12, 2022 3:40 am

Sixerscan wrote:

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Joel actually unchained

Read on Twitter

Posting it everywhere lol...

Goated!

kriss73 · Post #389 » by **kriss73** » Sun Feb 13, 2022 8:40 am

MVP

I'm so thankful he plays fon us.

blargh · Post #390 » by **blargh** » Sun Feb 13, 2022 1:36 pm

Has anyone heard anything about Embiid getting an MRI for his wrist? You’d think they would at least do a precautionary one.

eyeatoma · Post #391 » by **eyeatoma** » Sun Feb 13, 2022 2:07 pm

blargh wrote:Has anyone heard anything about Embiid getting an MRI for his wrist? You’d think they would at least do a precautionary one.

Thought about that myself, no word on it. He said he thinks it might take a while to get better. Seems like they should get one lol.

Sixers y'all never change.

sixers4real · Post #392 » by **sixers4real** » Thu Feb 17, 2022 1:08 pm

Watch on YouTube

I just love Joel Embiid

Da Doctor · Post #393 » by **Da Doctor** » Fri Feb 18, 2022 4:58 am

The amount of hatred Nuggets fans have for Embiid is unreal. Delusional.

Rando Collision · Post #394 » by **Rando Collision** » Fri Feb 18, 2022 5:10 am

This dude right here, though...

Read on Twitter

MVP1992 · Post #395 » by **MVP1992** » Fri Feb 18, 2022 5:10 am

For Joel's spirit and love for the game, his origins etc

I'd like to somehow grab Pascal Siakam. I think if they have a bond they could do great things on and off the court for the Sixers and Cameroonian basketball.

Wilfried · Post #396 » by **Wilfried** » Fri Feb 18, 2022 7:42 am

Decent response from him after that Boston debacle
Keep it up big fella

eyeatoma · Post #397 » by **eyeatoma** » Fri Feb 18, 2022 11:46 pm

Posted this on the toxic GB, but feel like it might have a better reception on this board haha.

Embiid now leads all odds makers (has for a few weeks), but the article says these are about the shortest odds for the MVP ever, so basically if he continues this production and doesn't get injured, the MVP is his.

https://www.oddschecker.com/us/insight/basketball/nba/20220218-nba-mvp-odds-update-joel-embiid-may-have-just-clinched-it-at-the-all-star-break?utm_source=nba_amplifier&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=rwegryn-sixers-twitter

https://www.oddschecker.com/us/basketball/nba/regular-season-mvp/winner

5. Ja Morant (+1800, Last Week: +1200)
In the last version of this column, I questioned why Morant's odds shortened from +1600 to +1200 when the top three candidates made so much positive movement on their own. Well, Morant gave back all of those gains and more as he slips closer to DeMar DeRozan in sixth (+3000) than the top three players on this list.

The Grizzlies continue to keep winning, however, and after another 8-2 stretch they sit just 1.5 games behind the Warriors for second in the West. They now score the most points per game in the league (113.8) and have the fifth-best offensive rating in the entire NBA.

Morant is the engine that is driving all of this success and he is the lock of the century to win the Most Improved award this season. He currently sits at -350 with Miles Bridges at +1000 his closest competitor. His February has been outstanding so far: he scores the fifth-most points per game with just the 66th-most minutes played per game. It likely won't be this year, but in a season not long from now, Morant will take down one of these awards.

4. Steph Curry (+1200, Last Week: +1000)

The MVP favorite for the first half of the season continues his tumble not because of his own play, but because the others ahead of him on this list have been otherworldly offensive and defensive performers for the better part of two months.

When looking at Curry's splits, you can clearly see that the return of Klay Thompson and the step up from Andrew Wiggins allows Curry to not have to carry the full offensive burden. In January and February, Curry averaged 22 points and 24 points, respectively. He was not below 27.4 points per game in any of the first three months of the season.

With two MVPs already on the shelf, Curry is much more concerned about getting his body and his team's health ready for the playoffs. While the odds lengthen and look more attractive, his likelihood of winning the award continues to diminish based on the next three names on this list

3. Giannis Antetokuonmpo (+400, Last Week: +360)

Giannis finally got a two-game stretch that were not blowouts so he was able to finally give us back-to-back performances with minutes in the upper-30's. What did he do in those games? Oh, not much. Just 41 points, 12.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 2.0 steals+blocks.

As I laid out last week, before too long this should be a two-man race between Giannis and Embiid. Not only have they been the most consistent dominant forces for the entire season, but their teams are charging at the right time.

Giannis may have lost the one-game battle Thursday night (more on that below), but those two do go head-to-head one more time this year and also seem destined to meet in the playoffs this season. Will Giannis rest more as the season moves along? With the Bucks trying to move into a home-court advantage situation for the first round, it doesn't appear likely.

2. Nikola Jokic (+300, Last Week: +340)

Offensive rating is not a complete nor comprehensive statistic, but it is interesting that Jokic is only 43rd in offensive rating in February. Morant, Doncic, and Giannis are all in the top-10, however, so something is amiss in Joker's game.

Mostly, it has to do with the fact that the Nuggets have been wildly inconsistent lately. Yes, they are on a three-game winning streak, but that brings them to only 6-4 in their last 10 games. Jokic has completely and unequivocally put the team on his back and is dragging them to a playoff berth with no Jamal Murray, no Michael Porter, and guys like Bryn Forbes and Jeff Green playing big roles.

He does still lead the league in PER but is now just fractional points ahead of Embiid and Giannis. Considering the state of both teams, there is certainly a debate to be had of whether Jokic or Embiid is the more valuable player to their team. But the 76ers are on the verge of a top-two spot in the East while the Nuggets are struggling to stay above the play-in tournament line.

1. Joel Embiid (+150, Last Week: +230) )

Thursday night may go down as being one of the career-defining games for Embiid and certainly may have won him the MVP award for 2021-2022. With a short-handed lineup on a national stage, Embiid dropped a 42/14/5 line on 67% shooting in a win over Milwaukee. This important conference win bumped Philly to third in the East and gave them the present tie-breaker over Milwaukee.

The Bucks were essentially at full strength in that game, so the fact that Embiid led them to victory on the road will make a major statement in MVP voters' minds.

His performance, of course, has been far more about just one game. In February, Embiid averages 31.8 points. 13.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.4 blocks in just 31.8 minutes per game. The scary thing is, Embiid has actually struggled with his shot somewhat this month. Averaging only 47.9% shooting from the floor in February, Embiid could actually take his game to another level if he ticks up to 50%. These are about the shortest odds we have seen for any one player to win the award this season, and Thursday's effort showed that it is certainly deserved.