Embiid closing in on history
He would become first international player to be scoring champion
Joel Embiid is about to make a lot of history. And a half-dozen first-round or play-in game matchups are set to be decided.
The final day of the NBA season has no shortage of storylines.
A new scoring champion will be crowned and, barring something crazy, Embiid — who hails from Cameroon — will become the first international player to win that title. The Philadelphia big man also would be the first center to win the scoring crown since Shaquille O’Neal in 19992000.
Embiid scored 41 points Saturday in Philadelphia’s 133-120 win over Indiana. He’s now averaging 30.6 points for the season, which is just ahead of LeBron James’ 30.3-point-pergame clip for the Los Angeles Lakers and Kevin Durant’s 30.1 average for the Brooklyn Nets.
But neither James nor Durant will play enough games to qualify for the statistical title; in an 82-game season, 58 games played is the minimum. That means the scoring race comes down to Embiid and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, the star from Greece — also bidding to be the first international NBA scoring champion — who would need a miracle finish to grab the crown.
If Embiid plays in Sunday’s 76ers’ regular-season finale against Detroit and didn’t score — which is unlikely — Antetokoumpo would still need 47 points in the Bucks’ finale at Cleveland to take the lead. If Embiid doesn’t play at all Sunday, Antetokounmpo would need 77 points to tie Embiid for the crown.
Antetokounmpo is averaging 29.9 points entering the season’s final day.
East race
Miami is the No. 1 seed. Toronto is the No. 5 seed. Chicago is the No. 6 seed. Everything else remains unclear.
Philadelphia’s win over Indiana on Saturday means that the 76ers will be either No. 3 or No. 4. Boston or Milwaukee will be No. 2; the Bucks lock up that spot with a win at Cleveland on Sunday. Boston can get to No. 2 by winning at Memphis and the Cavaliers beating the Bucks.
East play-in race
All that is certain is Atlanta cannot finish 7th and Brooklyn cannot finish 10th. The Nets can be No. 7, No. 8 or No. 9 — and the Hawks can be No. 8, No. 9 or No. 10. Cleveland and Charlotte will be in there too, in some order.
There are four Sunday games that will tell the tale, all 3:30 p.m. Eastern starts: Indiana at Brooklyn, Milwaukee at Cleveland,
Washington at Charlotte and Atlanta at Houston.
The Nets would be No. 7 with a win, and might get there with a loss as well. Cleveland would be no worse than No. 8 with a win. The Cavaliers and Hornets could each be 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th.
West race
Phoenix is the No. 1 seed, Memphis is the No. 2 seed. Dallas and Golden State will be No. 3 and No. 4 — in some order. And Denver and Utah will be No. 5 and No. 6 — again, in some order.
Golden State would be locked into No. 3 with wins Saturday at San Antonio and Sunday at New Orleans.
Utah will be the No. 5 seed with a win over Portland on Sunday, or if the Los Angeles Lakers beat Denver in the regular-season finale for those teams.
West play-in race
The only matchup and site that is locked in so far is: The Los Angeles Clippers will play at Minnesota on Tuesday night, with the winner getting the No. 7 seed and a first-round series with the Grizzlies.
The other West play-in game will have New Orleans playing host to San Antonio in the 9 vs. 10 matchup on Wednesday night. The winner of that game plays the Clippers-Timberwolves loser on Friday to see who’ll face Phoenix in Round 1.