theonlyclutch wrote:NADALalot wrote:theonlyclutch wrote:The effort by Denver fans to downplay Embiid's offense is pretty hilarious, PHI has a 119.6 ORTG with Embiid on-court which is elite and fairly close to DEN's 121.3 ORTG with Jokic on-court. This is despite PHI having less shooters and therefore significantly less proficient and prolific at taking threes (having Simmons at PG does that for you). The idea that somehow Embiid isn't also an A+ offensive centerpiece playing the way he is right now is ridiculous.
What would happen to Philly's offense if they didn't have Simmons?
Better than Denver's offense w/o Murray, apparentlyJokic with Murray: 124.3 ORTG
w/o Murray: 112.2 ORTG
Embiid w/ Simmons: 120.2 ORTG
w/o Simmoms: 113.9 ORTGStatlanta wrote:I don’t think Embiid is an A tier offensive player. More like B tier. His slightly above average foul draw is going against the GOAT playmaker at his position. Even then it’s possible that ability, reliant on refs mind you, won’t scale to the playoffs as opposed to Jokic’s natural pass first tendency. In addition he’s a worse FT shooter than Jokic so how much PPP are we really gaining there.
The offensive gap is greater than the defensive gap(which by the way is really only mobility in space), it’s clear as day when you watch both players individual scoring touch on the basketball.
Embiid's literally drawing more free throws than peak Shaquille O'Neal on a minutes-adjusted basis, and that aspect of his game has historically transferred just fine in the playoffs. Being a massive factor in getting opposing bigs into foul trouble also seems like a pretty good way to open up the offense by forcing those bigs to play more conservatively on D. It's not aesthetically pleasing like Jokic's game but the on-court results speak for themselves.
Great article from Insider from Zach Lowe, about how Embiid has gotten that much better this season. At the moment Lowe has him as MVP by a hair. Can't post the videos unfortunately.
https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/31003706/ten-nba-things-like-including-peak-joel-embiid
1. Joel Embiid and the little things
The most important story for the Philadelphia 76ers this season has been the massive improvement in Joel Embiid's midrange shot, and the variety of ways he gets to it.
Embiid has hit 53% on long 2s. He is more comfortable facing up from the top of the key, where it's harder for defenses to double. That gives Philadelphia another crunch-time answer, and it's the main weapon fueling Embiid's case to be the first big-man MVP since Dirk Nowitzki in 2006-07 -- and the first true center to win it in two decades.
But Embiid also seems more dialed in on the little things.
He clogs this drive, before Philly concedes an open triple to Embiid's man -- Domantas Sabonis. Most centers would park under the rim, boxing out air, assuming the rebound will fall to them. Instead, Embiid finds someone -- Myles Turner -- to take out.
Embiid is more diligent using one of his most obvious physical gifts: the length of his arms.
Good luck to any team involving the Ben Simmons-Embiid duo in a pick-and-roll. All you see are mean faces and long limbs.
(It should be noted this isn't quite showing up in public stats. Embiid's deflections haven't budged. His boxouts are down, though boxouts have dropped so severely league-wide -- according to the NBA's official page -- I'm wary of them. Embiid is about as active on the glass as last season, per Second Spectrum tracking data, and the Sixers allow fewer offensive rebounds when he's on the floor.)
I've seen less lead-footed standing -- including on offense, where Embiid is more active searching out instant pass-and-screen reads:
That is Draymond Green-ish: Sag too far off Embiid, and he might dart into a pick that catapults one Philly shooter into open space.
Have Embiid and Nikola Jokic put some distance between themselves and LeBron James (and the rest of the field) in the MVP race during the Los Angeles Lakers' recent cold stretch without Anthony Davis? Depends on the voter. LeBron has sustained his usual excellence; the Lakers are plus-20 with LeBron on the floor over nine consecutive games without Davis (and partly without Dennis Schroder), and minus-31 when he rests.
Embiid has been dynamite in crunch time for one of the league's best clutch teams. The small hole in his case: 98 assists and 96 turnovers. He is not as steady an all-court presence on offense as Jokic and James. In back-to-back games against the Toronto Raptors last month, Toronto swarmed Embiid before he even caught the ball. He shot 9-of-33 combined, and couldn't reclaim control of those games the way Jokic and LeBron might have.
But Toronto has a rare collection of long, fast, and ferocious defenders. The Sixers split those games, and Embiid managed 43 combined points largely thanks to his residency at the foul line. His defense was unaffected.
Is he the MVP? He probably leads by a hair today. A lot will change between now and voting time. Regardless: This is the Embiid we have waited to see.
Side note: James Harden's name has entered the MVP discourse. We have to see what life looks like when Kevin Durant returns, but no player has ever won the MVP during a season in which he was traded.
