Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Embiid not an All-Star ... at least not yet
weekend and that accolade, I completely support it.”
The All-Star starters are chosen through a combination of fan and player voting in addition to votes from a select media panel. The NBA coaches select the reserves. Embiid received 922,174 fan votes, third most among Eastern Conference frontcourt players, trailing only James and Antaokounmpo.
Brown has been confident that Embiid will be an All-Star.
“How could he not?” the Sixers’ coach said. “You just look around the league and you look at his skill set and you pair him up with other bigs. Look at his personal body of work in the environment that he’s done it, not playing basketball for two and a half years. And he’s come into the NBA and has been doing what he’s doing. How can you not walk out of a building and say, ‘Are you kidding me?’
“Defensively, he makes jaw-dropping, competitive plays. Offensively, he has a menu of skills and a variety of ways to score. And then just look at the numbers, when he is on the court or he isn’t. Look at the math and the impact he has on a team.
“How can he not be a legitimate consideration for this game?”
Embiid twice has been the NBA’s Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month. He leads all NBA rookies in scoring (19.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg). He has scored 20 or more points in each of his last 10 games.
Despite his minutes limitations, Embiid was ranked 33rd in the NBA in scoring Thursday. ••• Chasson Randle’s 10-day contract expired Thursday, and the Sixers did not publicly offer him a second one. That is likely to happen before the Friday night game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Randle is a second-year pro and first-year NBA player who played last season in the Czech Republic. He nearly made the Knicks in training camp before fracturing an orbital bone. The Sixers signed him from the Westchester Knicks of the D-League.
He has played two games for the Sixers, including a 113-104 victory in Milwaukee where he provided 10 points. He is 6-foot-1 but offers a 6-7 reach.
“He played with tenacity,” Brown said. “When you start looking at his physical measurements, his wingspan is elite. You sit him in a stance and he spreads out. He uncoils. He really can cover ground with his width, his length, albeit from a point-guard position. Some of the deflections he got and defensive plays he made, I thought were outstanding.”
NBA teams are permitted to sign a particular player to two 10-day contracts in one season. After that, they must release him or commit to him for the remainder of the season.
••• The Sixers held the Toronto Raptors to 89 points Wednesday. They had been averaging 114. Conclusions?
“We’re playing with a spirit,” Brown said. “We’re playing with a defensive mindset. And there is a belief amongst the team that is the best since I have been here. They hear me talk so much about a defensive identity. Who are we? How are you going to build a program? And words are cheap. Results are real. And lately they have been buying in and executing our defensive game plans. They’ve really been into playing defense.” ... The Sixers, who have won seven of their last nine, will entertain the Blazers Friday at 7. Portland is on a three-game losing streak, including a 107-85 defeat Wednesday in Charlotte. Their roster includes former Sixer Evan Turner, the second overall pick in the 2010 draft.