This season in the NBA has presented a grand battle for supremacy, and two super dark horse teams have emerged in the process. The Utah Jazz from the West and the New York Knicks from the East were in focus, respectively. The Jazz have an 8-2 record in their last 10 games to close their winning percentage to 50%, while the Knicks ushered in a wave of four straight wins after trading Barrett and acquiring Anunoby, with an average net win of 185 points.
At the same time, some Eastern Conference championship-level teams have not been doing as well as they could have done recently. The Timberwolves, who are at the top of the Western Conference, have only one win and three losses in their last four games, while other leading teams such as the Thunder, Bucks and 76ers have also fallen into a slump and experienced consecutive defeats.
The 76ers made a blockbuster trade at the start of the season, acquiring players such as Morris, Batum, Covington, and multiple draft picks at the expense of Harden and PJ Tucker. Judging by the trade, the 76ers seem to have suffered a slight loss, failing to acquire a star-caliber player through a Harden trade, and even a young player with potential has not been able to get it, as the Clippers are adamant about keeping Mann. On the other hand, the 76ers are not the time for a roster reshuffle when the trade closes, and the team's star Embiid is in his prime, so the team can't afford to give up. At the time, some fans feared that the 76ers could fall out of the ranks of the powerhouses, as they only had Embiid as an All-Star on their team, while other championship contenders had two or three or more star players.
The 76ers have performed surprisingly well this season, still leading the top three in the East. Harden's departure doesn't seem to have any impact on the team, but instead inspires more energy from the 76ers. First, a young Maxey took over as the second-leading man, replacing Harden as the controlling guard, a change that miraculously worked. The team gave Maxey more of the ball, which allowed his playmaking skills to be fully displayed. This season, Maxey is averaging 25 points per game9 points, 3 rebounds6, 6 assists6 times, almost doubling the average assists per game. He has played the longest minutes in the league this season at 372 minutes, which promises to be the candidate most likely to get the most improved player. Harden's departure not only gives Maxey more room to develop, but also gives Embiid more scoring opportunities.
After the playoffs last season, Embiid said he was eager to have more room to play on the team, and he wanted to show his ability to handle the ball and play, and become an all-round playmaker big center. And after Harden's departure, this is exactly what Embiid expected. This season, Embiid's stats are on the rise, averaging 34 per game6 points, 118 rebounds, 60 assists, 11 steal and 2The brilliant performance of 0 blocks is known as the ruler of contemporary NBA data. Not only that, Embiid has scored high points in a single game many times this season, including a slashing of 48 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists, as well as a game of 50 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, and even a stunning performance of 51 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 assists. Under his leadership, the 76ers maintained a solid position in the top three in the East. Considering this outstanding performance, Embiid is not only expected to win the MVP honor this season, but also has a good chance of winning the scoring title, and no one can actually shake his lead in both individual honors.
Despite this, Embiid is still controversial, especially after the last game, his identity as a "data brush" has been completely **. In the game with the New York Knicks, Embiid's hand was mediocre, and the entire 76ers team was also suppressed by the opponent, and the game quickly became no suspense, and the difference in the final quarter was once stretched to more than 30 points. Despite this, in order to maintain his feat of averaging 30 points and 10 rebounds per game in a row, Embiid worked the court in garbage time at the end of the game, and actually missed three consecutive mid-range shots. In the end, he drew a foul through a hard-hitting collision and scored two points from the free-throw line, totaling just 30 points. For those two points, Embiid almost injured himself. It can be seen that he has scored 30+ points in the 16th consecutive game and a 30+10 double-double in the 15th consecutive game, once again breaking the team's all-time record.
This kind of tricky scoring method is really unprecedented, no wonder Embiid has not been treated with the respect he deserves. What he values most is his personal data and honor, and he is very good at dealing with weak opponents, but when he encounters tough battles, he seems to be powerless, and he has not been able to prove himself in the playoffs, at most it is only a second-round tour. And looking at the way he scores in the game, he basically relies on touching porcelain to rub free throws, no wonder he can score so many points in one game. This season, in order to maintain his average data and records per game, he chose to rest at every turn, and directly chose to rest for those games he did not want to participate in. Compared to Embiid, Jokic is really a few notches higher. Teachers and the Great are two sides of the story, and Jokic is the kind of player who is dedicated to the team and doesn't care about personal data and accolades. What do you think?