PHILADELPHIA — Perhaps I should be flattered that Joel Embiid is using me as motivation.
Give the 76ers’ All-Star center credit. He posted an MVP-worthy performance while dominating the Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert in Wednesday night’s 131-123 overtime victory.
His 40-point, 19-rebound effort against Gobert, a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, came two nights after Embiid had 24 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in only three quarters against the Indiana Pacers and center Myles Turner, the league’s leader in blocked shots.
After Wednesday’s win, Embiid had some thoughts on a question I had asked Doc Rivers a few weeks ago.
“Well first of all, according to Keith Pompey, according to him, I’m scared of [Gobert] and I’m scared of top centers,” Embiid said. “As we saw tonight, it looks like I was very, very scared of him. So yeah, keep talking.”
He added that hopefully his performance can clear things up with me and WIP radio host Howard Eskin, who’s been critical.
As a pool reporter of Wednesday’s game, I was conducting a Zoom call interview with Jason Phillips, the vice president of NBA replays, to discuss the replay review of the Jazz turnover with 28 seconds to play during Embiid’s press conference. So I missed his comments in real time.
I never said he was scared of competition. Embiid knows that. The fact is five of the six games he missed were against elite centers.
Dominant performances like Wednesday are common for Embiid. He’s a four-time All-Star who has scored 31 or more points 15 times this season and is averaging 30.2 points (second in the NBA).
However, it’s undeniable that Embiid hasn’t played a lot against the league’s elite centers.
To his credit, Embiid hasn’t missed a game since he sat out on Feb. 15 during the Sixers’ first meeting with the Jazz in Utah.
Embiid missed that game with back tightness. Before that, he missed head-to-head matchups against standout centers Andre Drummond (Cleveland Cavaliers), Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), Jonas Valanciunas (Memphis Grizzlies), and power forward Domantas Sabonis/Turner (Indiana Pacers) for what the team called back tightness or right knee pain.
Due to load management, Embiid is going to miss games. But I asked Rivers after the Feb. 15 game if there is concern about the games he has missed against elite centers.
“That’s a hell of a question,” Rivers said that day. “No. He’s just a late scratch. I mean, obviously, I thought there were no issues with Joel. I thought he’d play. And then they came to me and told me his back was still stiff.
“So I don’t think this is a long-term issue or anything like that. I think it’s just a game miss.”
According to sources, Embiid makes the decision on whether he’s able to play. On occasion, he has waited until just before game time to inform the team of his playing status. He was listed as questionable leading up to Monday’s win over the Pacers with an ankle injury.
He scored 31 and 50 points against the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls, respectively, in the next two games. Houston center Christian Wood was sidelined with an injury and DeMarcus Cousins, who started in his place, isn’t the Cousins from a couple seasons ago. The Rockets waived him six days after that game.
Meanwhile, the Bulls used a tandem of third-year center Wendell Carter Jr. and former Sixers power forward Thad Young to guard Embiid. He feasted as Carter was too inexperienced and the 6-foot-8 Young was too small to guard the 7-2 center.
Over his next three games, Embiid combined to make just 14 of 53 shots (26.4%), while averaging 22 points against the Toronto Raptors and Dallas Mavericks.
He broke out of his shooting slump on Saturday against Jarrett Allen and the undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers. Embiid scored 42 points on 13-for-22 shooting, and recorded 13 rebounds, six assists and two blocks in the Sixers’ worst loss of the season.
The Cavs prevailed, 112-109, that night at the Wells Fargo Center despite playing without Matthew Dellavedova (concussion), Andre Drummond (personal reasons, seeking a trade), Kevin Love (right calf strain), Larry Nance Jr. (left hand fracture), Taurean Prince (personal reasons), and Cedi Osman (lower back spasms). Another player, Brodric Thomas, was on an NBA G-League assignment.
That brings up his one-sided showdowns against Turner (Monday) and Gobert (Wednesday).
On paper, Gobert was expected to provide the stiffest individual test for Embiid. In the last two seasons, he shot 19 of 48 (39.5%) with Gobert on the floor, and 12 of 35 (34.2%) when Gobert is the closest defender. But Embiid was dominant, making 14 of 27 shots in Wednesday’s win.
Turns out he used my question to Rivers about Embiid’s missed games and pointing out Gobert’s past success as motivation.
Yes, he’s recognized as the most dominant center in the game right now. In order to remain there, and not let other stars like Jokic overtake him, Embiid must continue to play at high level against the elite centers. Not just play, he has to play at a high level.
The Sixers’ success and his MVP chances will depend on it. A big unknown is if he can stay healthy and maintain this level of play to carry this team to the Eastern Conference finals.
But hey, it’s always good to serve as someone’s motivation.
