Joel Embiid

The Toronto Raptors have traditionally been a tough matchup for Joel Embiid, throwing double- and even triple-teams his way in an effort to get the ball out of his hands. 

So Embiid knows he'll need to rely on his teammates when that happens, particularly his newest teammate, James Harden. As Embiid told reporters on Thursday, Harden will need to be aggressive looking to create his own offense against Toronto:

I tell him to be himself. He's been doing a great job of being the playmaker, but we need him to be aggressive and really score the ball, especially against Toronto. With the way they guard me, we're going to need everybody. We're going to need Tyrese [Maxey] to be aggressive with all the attention that's going to be on me and James. Tyrese, Tobias [Harris], all the other guys, they have to make plays. He just has to be himself, and not worry about people talking about pressure. Whatever happened in the past, you look back at what he's accomplished and what he's done, he had to play against a dynasty. It would have been hard for anybody to beat those Golden State teams, so bad timing. But I'm sure it's going to be fine.

Embiid hasn't exactly struggled against Toronto this season, averaging 29 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and a block in three contests, shooting 46.6 percent from the field. But the Sixers, who went just 1-3 against the Raptors this season, were 1-2 with Embiid playing against them. 

The MVP candidate is going to get his, even if the Raptors do everything in their power to slow him down. The bigger question for the Sixers is who will carry the offense when the Raptors do force the ball away from Embiid. 

The logical call would be Harden, who proved to be one of the NBA's most talented and efficient scorers during his time with the Houston Rockets. 

In Philadelphia, however, Harden has been more of a playmaker than a scorer, averaging 10.5 assists per game. He's still putting up a solid 21 points per game as well in Philly, though it would represent his lowest scoring average since the 2011-12 season. His 40.2 shooting percentage and 30.2 three-point percentage during his 21 games in Philly would each be career lows compared to his previous season averages. 

That has naturally led to one major question: Is Harden simply adjusting to new teammates and finding his way in a new scheme, or has the 32-year-old lost a step and less capable of scoring at an elite level?

The Sixers are banking on the former, and that a full week off before the playoffs will help rejuvenate him for a deep run. Sixers fans are hoping that Harden was simply keeping some fuel in reserves toward the end of the regular season after his heavy workload during the Houston years often appeared to leave him worn out by the postseason. 

"It's good," Harden told reporters on Thursday when asked about a lingering hamstring issue. "I've actually been doing some sprints and some hamstring work this week, so it's a really good week to prepare myself for this first round."

If Harden simply has lost a step, however, it will not only be a major blow for the Sixers' title hopes but will leave them in a precarious spot going forward. After trading Ben Simmons for Harden this season, letting him walk for nothing as a free agent would be tough to justify, but paying him a massive supermax deal would leave them financially hamstrung in the years to come. 

It's all a moot point if Harden is back to his old scoring ways in the postseason. So the stakes are high, even if Harden isn't feeling the pressure. 

"Pressure, no. I feel good," he told reporters Thursday. "I'm ready to hoop. There's nothing to it."

If Kevin Durant had an NBA MVP vote, he would cast it for Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. 

The Brooklyn Nets star told reporters Tuesday he supports Embiid's case but noted the narrative aspect could be a significant factor, as "more people like Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and [Nikola] Jokic" for the award.

There seems to be a consensus among fans and analysts that the MVP race will come down to those three players.

Jokic is the betting favorite at -330 (bet $330 to win $100), per FanDuel. Embiid is second at +300, followed by Antetokounmpo at +800. 

Team performance would favor Embiid and Antetokounmpo over Jokic. The Sixers and Bucks both finished 51-31 during the regular season. The Nuggets had a 48-34 record, sixth-best in the Western Conference. 

There's a reasonable statistical argument for all three players. Embiid became the first center since Shaquille O'Neal in 1999-2000 to win the regular-season scoring title. The 76ers superstar averaged 30.6 points per game.

Antetokounmpo averaged a career-high 29.9 points per game and is on the short list of candidates to win Defensive Player of the Year. 

Jokic also set career highs in scoring average (27.1 points per contest) and rebounding (13.8 per game). He also averaged 7.9 assists per contest. The Nuggets star is the only player in the NBA to rank in the top 10 in scoring, rebounds and assists this season. 

Between basic stats and advanced metrics, Jokic was, by far, the best player in the league during the regular season. 

Jokic also did that for a Nuggets team that didn't have Jamal Murray as he continued to rehab from a torn ACL suffered in April 2021. Michael Porter Jr. was mostly ineffective in the nine games he played this season before undergoing back surgery. 

Jokic seems to have the strongest resume, but Embiid has a good narrative that can carry him to the award. 

The Sixers were hardly a model of consistency this season. They navigated the Ben Simmons saga before eventually trading him to the Brooklyn Nets. James Harden was inconsistent during his 21 games in Philadelphia after the trade. 

Embiid was the one consistent presence for the 76ers all season. No Sixers player has won the MVP award since Allen Iverson in 2000-01.    

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Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid officially clinched the scoring title Sunday after the Milwaukee Bucks ruled out Giannis Antetokounmpo for the team's season finale versus the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Embiid is currently averaging 30.6 points per game, just ahead of Giannis (29.9 PPG). LeBron James averaged 30.3 points per game for the Los Angeles Lakers this season but didn't play enough games to be eligible for the scoring title, leaving him out of the running. 

That a center won the scoring title in a modern game that emphasizes floor spacing and versatile guards and wings, and deemphasized post play, is all the more impressive. 

Embiid is also the first center to average over 30 points per game since Moses Malone in 1981-82.

The scoring title will be one of the pillars of Embiid's MVP case, with the veteran big man in the running for the award alongside Antetokounmpo and Denver's Nikola Jokic. But he's also averaged 11.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 blocks per game, shooting 49.9 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from three and 81.4 percent from the free-throw line. 

Embiid also anchors Philly's defense, serving as one of the game's better rim protectors. Add it all up, and the big man believes he should be considered the league's best player this season. 

"If it happens, great," he told reporters earlier this week. "If it doesn't, I don't know what I have to do. I'll feel like they hate me. I feel like the standard for guys in Philly or for me is different than everyone else."

It would be hard to knock MVP voters for siding with either Jokic or Antetokounmpo—both have had absurdly good seasons. But it's hard to ignore the historically good season Embiid has had, and he would be one of the harder-luck MVP runners-up in recent memory if he doesn't take home the award. 

If nothing else, however, the scoring title is his.

The Philadelphia 76ers defeated Rick Carlisle's Indiana Pacers 133-120 on Saturday behind a 41-point performance from MVP candidate Joel Embiid, and while speaking with reporters after the game, the head coach lauded the veteran big man. 

"We haven’t seen a guy like this in the history of the league who has this kind of power and skill," Carlisle said. "He's able to score on all three levels effortlessly. He's an amazing player, and it will be interesting to see what teams do in the playoffs to try to slow him down."

This isn't the first time Carlisle has commented on how dangerous Embiid can be. Back in 2017 when he was coaching the Dallas Mavericks, he joked that the big man is so good that showing film of him to his team could be dangerous.

"You have to be careful what you show in pregame edits, or you might scare the s--t out of your team," Carlisle said at the time.

Embiid also had 20 rebounds and four assists against the Pacers. It marked his third 40-plus-point performance over the last week. He scored 44 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday and 45 against the Pacers on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old also made history Saturday by becoming the first center to average at least 30 points per game since Moses Malone accomplished the feat in 1982. 

Embiid has improved in each of his NBA seasons, but the 2021-22 campaign has seen him reach a new level. He entered Saturday's game averaging 30.4 points, 11.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 blocks while shooting 49.5 percent from the floor and 36.5 percent from deep in 67 games.

The Sixers will need Embiid to be just as potent in the postseason, though there's no question that he'll be the best player on the court against whichever team Philadelphia plays in the first round. 

During the 2021 playoffs, Embiid averaged 28.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.5 blocks while shooting 51.3 percent from the floor and 39.0 percent from deep in 11 games. Considering the Sixers have a more experienced Tyrese Maxey and added superstar guard James Harden, Embiid is primed to have his best postseason yet. 

The Sixers will end the 2021-22 regular season Sunday against the Detroit Pistons. They sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 50-31 record and could move to third with a win and a Boston Celtics loss. 

Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams believes Devin Booker should be the front-runner for MVP this season despite players like Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo getting more hype to win the award.

"How many guys with his numbers and our record weren't the MVP?" he asked reporters Wednesday. "I've heard in Book's case it's because he plays with Chris [Paul]. That's kind of silly because [James] Harden won one playing with Chris."

Williams isn't alone in holding that belief:

The argument in favor of Booker is that he's the leading scorer (26.7 PPG) on the best team in basketball. It's not particularly close—at the time of publication the Suns were 63-16, eight wins better than any other team.

Now you could make the argument that the Western Conference is having something of a down year, with a number of past contenders like the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers and Denver Nuggets dealing with major injuries throughout the year.

But the Eastern Conference is loaded this season, and the Suns went 25-5 against those teams. They've had an incredible regular season.

It's a bit easier to make the argument against Booker being the MVP, however. He's currently just 10th in scoring average and doesn't offer an equivalent secondary skill to players like Jokic (elite playmaker from the center position), Embiid or Antetokounmpo (both elite defenders).

You want advanced stats? Booker is 20th in win shares (7.5), 17th in VORP (3.5), 20th in box plus-minus (4.0), 38th in player impact estimate (13.7) and 26th in player efficiency rating (21.45). For context, the trio of Jokic, Embiid and Antetokounmpo all rank top-three in each of those metrics.

Booker's had a great season. But the best player doesn't always play on the team with the best record. That's likely the argument MVP voters will make when they vote for either Jokic, Embiid or Giannis.

Advanced stats via Basketball Reference and NBA.com.

The Philadelphia 76ers are in the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

Philadelphia clinched a postseason berth Sunday with a 112-108 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. A 44-point performance from Joel Embiid helped the Sixers hold off a late push from the Cavs.

This was a different route to the playoffs for the Sixers than it was in the previous four years.

All of the headlines coming into the season revolved around Ben Simmons' future with the team. The three-time All-Star requested a trade in August during a meeting with Sixers management.

It took until the Feb. 10 trade deadline, but Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey took advantage of James Harden's unhappiness with the Brooklyn Nets to add the former NBA MVP in a blockbuster trade involving Simmons.

Even before the trade was made, Philadelphia was firmly in playoff contention thanks to Embiid.

Embiid remains the center around whom everything works. He is having an MVP-caliber season, entering Sunday averaging 30.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 49.4 percent from the floor and 36.4 percent from deep.

Tyrese Maxey is in the midst of a breakout season as the starting point guard. The second-year standout entered Sunday putting up 17.2 points and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 41.6 percent from three-point range. And Matisse Thybulle has solidified himself as one of the best wing defenders in the NBA.

After missing eight straight games with a hamstring injury, Harden's debut for the 76ers was a massive success. He dropped 27 points and dished out 12 assists in a 133-102 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 25.

"That was probably the most wide-open I've ever been in my career," Embiid joked with reporters after that game, in which he scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Bringing in Harden is supposed to be the next step in the process for a 76ers team that is trying to get over the hump in the playoffs.

The Sixers haven't advanced past the Eastern Conference Semifinals in each of the past four seasons. Two of those losses came in Game 7s, including the Kawhi Leonard buzzer-beater against the Toronto Raptors in 2019 and the Atlanta Hawks series in 2021 that marked the unofficial end of Simmons' tenure in Philadelphia.

Even though Morey had to sacrifice some of Philadelphia's depth in the Harden trade, including sending Seth Curry to Brooklyn, this roster is set up to make a deep playoff run on the strength of having two of the best players in the NBA.

The last time the 76ers reached the Eastern Conference Finals was during the 2000-01 season. They beat the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.

It remains to be seen whether this team can have the same run as that squad, but all of the pieces are in place for a special postseason in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will miss Monday night's matchup with the Miami Heat with back soreness, per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.

What's more, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported James Harden will miss the game to help his left hamstring recover.

The Sixers are on the second half of a back-to-back after losing to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night. Embiid had been questionable for each of the team's last three games following the Sixers' loss to the Denver Nuggets last Monday.

When healthy, the 28-year-old has been arguably the best player in the league this season.

Embiid averaged 28.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.0 steals per game last season as an All-NBA second-team selection. It was the third time he was given such recognition.

He has followed up with an NBA-leading 29.8 points per game to go along with 11.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per contest in 2021-22 as an MVP candidate.

While the 76ers cannot feasibly replicate Embiid's impact while he's sidelined, look for DeAndre Jordan, Paul Millsap and perhaps Paul Reed to handle the center position Monday night.

As for Harden, he averaged 22.4 points, 10.5 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals in his first 11 games since joining Philadelphia in the trade that sent Ben Simmons to the Brooklyn Nets.

His absence could mean an even bigger night of responsibilities for Tyrese Maxey.