This season, has there been less discussion about Embiid, the league's MVP last season?While Embiid isn't mentioned as often as James, Curry and Durant, he does get less attention, even though he's leading in points per game so far this season and he's also in the hunt for back-to-back MVP titles.
Embiid even lost to his teammate Maxey at one point, although it is understandable that Maxey has received a lot of attention, after all, he has been a good player since he joined the 76ers. And after Harden left the 76ers, he perfectly shouldered the burden of scoring as a guard and made everyone more interested and impressed, and now Maxey is one of the high-profile players in the league.
However, it should be noted that Embiid is averaging more than 33 points per game after a quarter of the season. In a game against the Wizards on Dec. 7, he scored 50 points, 13 rebounds and dished out seven assists. It was the fourth time in his career that he recorded at least 50 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a single game, while equaling the franchise record set by legendary Wilt Chamberlain with the 76ers.
Perhaps the biggest compliment for a superstar would be to take his incredible results for granted, just as it's not uncommon for Jokic and Doncic to have a triple-double in a single game. Incidentally, Doncic set a record triple-double (29 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) in the first 24 minutes of the first half against the Jazz on Dec. 7, the most in history for a triple-double. In the past, James has also taken for granted a lot of amazing performances because he was too outstanding. The 39-year-old has also produced incredible results in his 21st season, and one wonders how different his genes are.
In addition, superstars Antetokounmpo and Curry have been so good this season that people are Xi to some of their outstanding performances. Xi to their strength, you won't be surprised by their superhuman performance as much as you did at the beginning, and Embiid seems to have entered their ranks.
This season, Embiid has continued to contribute god-level statistics, which can even be said to be better than the last season when he won the MVP, but everyone's response was a bit lackluster. In the past five weeks, he has scored less than 30 points in only four games, and three of those four games have scored 26, 27 and 28 points, respectively. In addition, against the Lakers with Davis and James on Nov. 28, he scored 30 points and dished out 11 assists in a single game. This season, he has seen the most significant increase in assists. So far, Embiid has provided at least five assists in each of his last nine games.
Embiid's assists are not the same as Jokic's, not using unseen passes to teammates in the open after getting the opponent's bag. After Nick Nurse coached, Embiid's hand-to-hand pass tactics have increased in frequency. After pushing into halfcourt, Embiid has averaged six more touches than last season, and this season he is like a 7-foot sun that keeps his teammates spinning around. When Harden was still on the team, the 76ers' offense was more of a two-man group, and the other three players didn't have much offensive involvement. Now, all five players on the court are involved in the offensive game, and use Embiid as the center of the receiving ball to find the best offensive player and timing. In a hand-to-hand pass with Embiid involved, the average score is 106 points (6th in the league). Last season, the 76ers averaged one point (13th in the league) on this tactic.
When Embiid is on the floor, 34 percent of the team's scoring is assisted by him, and the assists ratio ranks second among all tallers, behind the Nuggets' Jokic. His pitching stats aren't particularly impressive, but his face-to-frame singles keep opponents scratching the surface and he's been on the free-throw line far ahead of the rest of the league.
It must be said that Embiid now has the strength to dominate the league, even if everyone has begun to take his good performance for granted, but the changes that Nick Nurse has brought to the team this year have also promoted Embiid to another level of top superstars, and they should not even ignore their championship potential.