Crowd roaring over Embiid even in empty gym
PHILADELPHIA » With seconds left in another 76ers victory, with his career-high 50th point of the game having been recorded and with it another payment toward his presumptive MVP award, Joel Embiid turned his back to the court Friday and faced the Wells Fargo Center stands.
Raising both arms high and smiling, the All-Star center would invite a roar of approval, wiggling his hands and nodding his head for added encouragement.
It was his time, and he knew it. So did the 50 Sixers employees scattered about the lower bowl. But so did the rest of the world, checking in electronically.
“When you look at how dominant he is on the floor, his ability to make plays and to score, I will one day tell my kids I was playing with Joel Embiid,” Tobias Harris would say. “And when they ask who the best player I ever played with was, I’ll say, ‘Joel Embiid.’”
Embiid has had other big games, in the regular season, in the playoffs, in important situations and on the occasional NBA throw-away night. And the victory over the Chicago Bulls in an empty arena at the end of a snowy week would not squeeze into league history. Yet with the way Embiid played, shooting 17-for-26 overall and 15-for-17 from the foul line, it was a 36-minute tutorial on why he is the best player, skill for skill, in franchise history. He powered inside. He backed off to casually drain 10-footers. He had only one triple, low for him, but it was enough to show his range. At one point in the first half, he took possession in the Sixers’ end and dribbled, with a point guard’s handle, the length of the floor to maneuver through traffic for a layup.
Near the end, the Bulls tried to steal a road victory by being physical, Billy Donovan dispatching long,
rugged, 6-8, 235-pound Thaddeus Young to shove Embiid away from the basket, not unlike a nightclub bouncer. Embiid responded by toppling the 14th-year veteran like a wilting snowman. And even if the refs did seem to give him the superstar discount on some block-charge options, it was for one reason: Joel Embiid is a superstar, and that’s the way the league has worked since back when the games were presented in dance halls.
“In the end, it’s what makes me un-guardable,” Embiid allowed, as if he needed the prodding. “If you are going to crowd me, I will find my way to the free throw line or end up at the basket. If you’re going to back up, I’ve got that hesitation shot. And my favorite is the pull-up shot, or the easy shot that I always get in the post.”
While quite the declaration, it was both accurate and in character. For it was Embiid, after playing only a part of one season at Kansas, entering the league and confidently engaging in conversations favorably comparing him with Hakeem Olajuwon. But even if he effectively presides over his own fan club, there deserves to be one.
“Watching Joel do what Joel does is pretty special,” Matisse Thybulle said. “I think at the beginning I took it for granted. I was like, ‘He’s just another NBA player that gets buckets.’ But being on his team and seeing what he does to other teams is pretty special, because all their defenses are trying to do is stop him.
“Honestly, the fact that he is an All-Star starter is no surprise. I think we’re just waiting for him to be named MVP.”
That should happen. It’s still a little early, though. It’s senseless to ignore Embiid’s injury history. And calling out sick with an ouchy back every five or six games is worthy of concern, for his only college season was truncated by a back issue. Doc Rivers, though, is the best in the business, so he will be able to handle that. And Embiid never completely bought into the sports science scheme. He prefers to play.
This year, he has never played better.
“He gives you confidence coming out of timeouts,” Rivers said. “You know you can go somewhere. And what Joel is doing is great. We go to him. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that he has to score. He creates scoring, too. He did that with his five assists.
“So it’s good to have him on our side, I’ll tell you that.”
He scores. He rebounds. He picks-and-pops. He swishes three-pointers. He frees space for the shooters, Danny Green and Seth Curry. He can dribble 75 feet and finish in traffic. He engages physically. He passes. He’ll work for a 50-50 ball. Entering a game against the Raptors Sunday night, he was averaging 11 rebounds, 3.2 assists and a career-high 30.5 points.
“It’s amazing to watch an amazing player,” said rookie Isaiah Joe, after the morning shootaround from Tampa. “I feel like I can learn a lot from him. He is one of those guys you need on your team to help you go far in this league. And the way the rest of the players on our team are focused, I feel we can go real far.”
Seven years into his pro career, two lost to injury, Embiid has not led the Sixers into a third playoff round. This year, he is playing well enough to drive them into a fourth.
Late in the Chicago game, whenever he would go the foul line, the arena speakers would blast a recording from another era, a long-ago crowd screaming, “MVP, MVP, MVP.”
Even with no paying customers in the building, it resonated.