Scoring crown set to go global
Embiid’s season will be historic one
Joel Embiid is about to make a lot of history. And a half-dozenfirst-round or playin game matchups are set to bedecided.
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 be the first center to win the scoring crown since Shaquille O’Neal in 1999-2000.
Embiid scored 41 points Saturday in Philadelphia’s 133-120win over Indiana. He’s now averaging 30.6 points, which is just ahead of LeBron James’ 30.3-point-per-game 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 finishto grab the crown.
If Embiid plays in
Sunday’s 76ers’ regular-season finale against Detroit and doesn’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.
East race
Miami is the No. 1 seed. Toronto is the No. 5 seed. Chicago is the No. 6 seed. Everythingelse 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 Buckslock up that spot with a win at Cleveland on Sunday. Boston can get to No. 2 by winning at Memphis and the Cavaliersbeating the Bucks.
East play-in race
All that is certain is Atlanta cannot finish seventh 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 someorder.
There are four Sunday games that will tell the tale, all 3:30 p.m. 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. Cleveland would be no worse than No. 8 witha win. The Cavaliers and Hornets could each be seventh, eighth, ninth 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 Sundayat New Orleans.
Utah will be the No. 5 seed with a win over Portland on Sunday, or if the Los Angeles
Lakersbeat Denver Sunday.
West play-in race
The only matchup and site that is locked in so far: 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 facing San Antonio in the 9 vs. 10 matchup on Wednesday night. It’ll be at New Orleans,unless the Spurs go 2-0 on Saturday and Sunday and the Pelicans — who lost to Memphis on Saturday — also lose toGolden State on Sunday.
Race to 82
Only five players are in
position to play on Sunday and officially appear in all 82 regular-season games with their team this season: Phoenix’s Mikal Bridges, Detroit’s Saddiq Bey, Washington’s Deni Avdija, Dallas’ Dwight Powell and — after appearing for Golden State in Game 81 on Saturday — the Warriors’ KevonLooney.
3-pointers down
For the first time in a decade, the NBA won’t set a 3pointers made record — at leastnot in terms of average.
Teams are making 12.4 3s per game this season, down slightly from 12.7 last season. The 2020-21 season was the ninth in a row in which the per-game average had set a record.