Joel Embiid

[youngcrev]

mmmm...not sure. The evolution of the the game matters. Style of play too.

Shaq and Duncan (who's really more of a center than a PF) dominated the late 90s/early 2000s but the NBA liked the narrative picks better, so I wouldn't say that's completely reflective.

Agreed with the underlying point, but the position has also evolved with these guys having the ability to step outside for 3 (and being encouraged to do so). The importance of rim protection never went away, though there's more tactics to reduce the effectiveness of the lumbering guys that can't step out on the perimeter.

[Benfitnyc]

Joel is playing at the MVP level. Period. 38 points on 15 shots. If he can keep this consistency and stay healthy, and we are 1st seed, I don't see how he doesn't win it.

Giannis is not at an MVP level this season. Nets cancel each other out. Lebron could be a threat, but I'm not sure his numbers will be as high.
Warriors will not have enough wins (for Steph to enter contention). Kawhi could miss a lot of games with load management.

I don't see anyone else being a legitimate treat right now, to be honest.

Luka

[rzzzzz]

Building around Biid has always been the answer, and they’re finally doing a good job of it. After each game, I enjoy reading the comments on the boards of the teams we play. They don’t like him, but they all respect him.

[rzzzzz]

mmmm...not sure. The evolution of the the game matters. Style of play too.

I think it makes a lot more sense if you put names to those little squares. Like Russell, Jabbar, Moses and Hakeem, etc. cause any one of those guys (plus Chamberlain, a healthy Walton, Shaq) would be MVP candidates if they played now.

[zaz102]

mmmm...not sure. The evolution of the the game matters. Style of play too.

I think it makes a lot more sense if you put names to those little squares. Like Russell, Jabbar, Moses and Hakeem, etc. cause any one of those guys (plus Chamberlain, a healthy Walton, Shaq) would be MVP candidates if they played now.

Yeah, I don't think MVP tells you much about the evolution of the game. Like its been considered a guard league, but you have LeBron James who just a generational talent and is on that list regardless.

[kuclas]

Joel is playing at the MVP level. Period. 38 points on 15 shots. If he can keep this consistency and stay healthy, and we are 1st seed, I don't see how he doesn't win it.

Giannis is not at an MVP level this season. Nets cancel each other out. Lebron could be a threat, but I'm not sure his numbers will be as high.
Warriors will not have enough wins (for Steph to enter contention). Kawhi could miss a lot of games with load management.

I don't see anyone else being a legitimate treat right now, to be honest.

Luka

Have you seen luka ever play defense. Me neither.

Luka is a great player already but his defense is just a step above trae young which isn’t saying a lot

[Bum Adebayo]

Guards and wings have been better than Centers in last years, there is nothing more to it really.
Moreover, a league where guards are more valuable than Centers is an unbalanced league, so basically a joke of a league, there needs to be ABSOLUTE balance.
If you say this is a guards league, you are already admitting the product is trash with just 5 words.

[Kova]

Joel is playing at the MVP level. Period. 38 points on 15 shots. If he can keep this consistency and stay healthy, and we are 1st seed, I don't see how he doesn't win it.

Giannis is not at an MVP level this season. Nets cancel each other out. Lebron could be a threat, but I'm not sure his numbers will be as high.
Warriors will not have enough wins (for Steph to enter contention). Kawhi could miss a lot of games with load management.

I don't see anyone else being a legitimate treat right now, to be honest.

Luka

Have you seen luka ever play defense. Me neither.

Luka is a great player already but his defense is just a step above trae young which isn’t saying a lot

This. He is amazing, but I don't think they will be much better than a .500 team.

[76ciology]

Embiid is currently shooting mid range jumpers better than Michael Jordan back in 96-97. 10-16ft jumpers makes up 20% of his shots and he’s shooting it at 52%

[DCasey91]

mmmm...not sure. The evolution of the the game matters. Style of play too.

I think it makes a lot more sense if you put names to those little squares. Like Russell, Jabbar, Moses and Hakeem, etc. cause any one of those guys (plus Chamberlain, a healthy Walton, Shaq) would be MVP candidates if they played now.

Yeah, I don't think MVP tells you much about the evolution of the game. Like its been considered a guard league, but you have LeBron James who just a generational talent and is on that list regardless.

Outside of the Big 5( Kareem, Wilt, Russell, Hakeem, Shaq) and David Robinson, Embiid stacks up well against ATG centers.

He’s for sure a top ten center all time type generational talent it’s easy to see.

I’m actually surprised his FG% is under 50% because he is such an elite free throw shooter for a big.

But this a the 2nd best system around him (outside of an elite top ten perimeter threat).

We all know he’s a MVP/DPOY type player hopefully this goes the right way. Elite bigs cause big time chaos in the playoffs. And the comp right now is prime picking for Embiid .

Man if he ever gets a drexler/west/pierce/kobe hell even an Prime Conley watch out everyone lol


Apparently Bjelica is available. Def wouldn’t mind him as a stretch 4 if we’re not going down a big trade route.

[elchengue20]

Right now he should be the number 1 candidate for MVP.

If he can keep this up, it's going to be a very close race with Lebron and maybe someone else. Jokic or Luka are huge candidates but they have to start winning more games.

I don't see Giannis winning again. There isn't really any more serious contenders.

[Negrodamus]

It's the year of the big man. Larry Nance leading the league in steals, Jokic leading in assists. Jokic, Vucevic, Davis, Embiid, Durant (kinda big man-ish) are 5 of the top ten in VORP.

[Jailblazers7]

The most exciting thing about Embiid's season (besides him being a clear MVP candidate) is that there are still some pretty clear places where he can improve. He's gotten much better at passing out of double teams but he still at a fairly early stage on that learning curve. As he gets better at anticipating double teams, I think he'll get a lot sharper in terms of pass placement and maybe even graduate into more advanced skip passes every once in a while. His shooting percentages have been crazy so far from mid range and 3 so we'll have to see if that holds up. But he's taking really high quality shots so I think there's a chance it stays closer to his current levels than his career averages.

[76thBearCub]

Im curious what the driving force is behind his new found commitment to physical fitness. If it's more somebody in his ear or more of a maturation thing. But mainly I'm just happy to see it.

[LloydFree]

Im curious what the driving force is behind his new found commitment to physical fitness. If it's more somebody in his ear or more of a maturation thing. But mainly I'm just happy to see it.

"Getting our respect back" - Tobias Harris

1. Getting swept by the Celtics in the 1st round
2. Not making All-NBA and Rudy Gobert beating him out.

[Stribor]

MVP He has numbers, team standings and not stellar surrounding. I do not see how KD for instance could deserve it more (and he is my second). Jokic and Doncic could but only if their teams come to third place which is unlikely. Giannis could if he did not win already 2 ... LBJ / no way, that would just be a stil if he gets it. Great player but not even in top 10 in points or top 5 in assits + has AD + Lakers are still not better in standings then us or Clippers for that matter. So MVP at the moment for sure...

[Bum Adebayo]

Im curious what the driving force is behind his new found commitment to physical fitness. If it's more somebody in his ear or more of a maturation thing. But mainly I'm just happy to see it.

So what is the difference between the previous 4 seasons where he had below average to bad shape, and this season where he finally is in decent to good shape? there was one common denominator in these 4 seasons, not here this season.
I'm sure if you compare the differences, you'll find the answer.

[76thBearCub]

So what is the difference between the previous 4 seasons where he had below average to bad shape, and this season where he finally is in decent to good shape? there was one common denominator in these 4 seasons, not here this season.
I'm sure if you compare the differences, you'll find the answer.

Yep a refreshing take from you.

[Bum Adebayo]

Obviously when one wants to understand why Embiid is suddenly on board with a healthy lifestlye to be in shape, the first thing to do is to see what has changed and what is different compared to before. This seems obvious but maybe it's just me...

[Jailblazers7]

I'm sure he had a little extra motivation from recent failures and being snub during award season. But I'd bet a lot of it is due to him being a father now, which I assume is what Bum is referring to. Wanting to be healthier (and live longer) and set a good example for your son is a pretty powerful motivator that Embiid has talked about pretty publicly.