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By the standards he’s set with the Philadelphia 76ers this season, Saturday night’s outing against the Phoenix Suns was a disappointing one for Joel Embiid. In a 120-105 loss for Philadelphia, Embiid went for 28 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.
Most players would be thrilled by that line. But most players are not competing for the title of the NBA‘s Most Valuable Player. Most players haven’t eclipsed 30 points in 10 of their last 11 contests. In other words, most players aren’t Joel Embiid.
After the loss to the Suns, head coach Doc Rivers offered a candid assessment of Embiid’s game.
“I thought he was a little sluggish tonight,” Rivers told reporters when asked about his star big man’s performance, per Sports Illustrated. “He was human.”
Rivers went on contextualize those numbers, explaining that Embiid’s failures were also attributable to the team as a whole.
“I would love to be human and have 28, ten, and four, and that was a bad game for Joel’s standards,” Rivers finished. “He sets a standard when you think about it, and that’s pretty awesome in a lot of ways. I thought they trapped a lot. I thought we didn’t handle those very well as a group.”
In recent weeks, Embiid has moved to the front of the MVP race. The big man is the current betting favorite to take home the award, ahead of Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokoumpo.
Suns Coach Calls Out 76ers Star Joel Embiid
Rivers wasn’t the only head coach to name-drop Embiid.
After designing a game plan that limited Embiid, Suns head coach Monty Williams praised Embiid’s skill.
“I think it was huge for sure because nobody does it better than Jo (Joel Embiid),” Williams said, per the Jump View YouTube channel. “I mean he’s big, he’s mobile, he can draw contact and finish and you have to just move on to the next play.”
The Sixers’ loss to Phoenix was the team’s second in as many games. Earlier in the week, Philadelphia coughed up a loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Joel Embiid Blasts 76ers’ Effort Against Warriors
And much like Rivers admonished Embiid for his effort against the Suns, Embiid did the same for his team after losing to the Warriors.
“It’s tough when you got to do a lot offensively, and then defensively you also got to do a lot, whether it’s protecting the rim, edging and helping all over the place, especially against a team at that end that moves the ball, that makes your defense get in rotations all the time it’s tough but that’s my job and I love it,” Embiid said, via USA Today’s Sixers Wire. “Tonight could have been better, but we kinda went away from what was working at the start.”
Up next, the Sixers take on the Denver Nuggets and Jokic in what will no doubt be a referendum on the MVP race.
Another lingering storyline: James Harden’s injury. The Sixers’ offense has plummeted with its lead playmaker sidelined with Achilles soreness. The team’s assists, scoring, and offensive rating have declined substantially during Harden’s absence.
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