Tag: joel embiid

Joel Embiid named a 2021 NBA All-Star Game starter

The NBA announced today that Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers was named an Eastern Conference starter for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game. It’s Embiid’s fourth consecutive All-Star selection after being named a starter in each of the past three seasons.

He’s the first 76ers player to be named a starter in four straight All-Star Games since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson started seven straight from 2000-06.

Embiid is also the seventh player in franchise history to be named an All-Star starter at least four times. The only 76ers with more starting selections are Hall of Famers Julius Erving (11), Dolph Schayes (11) and Iverson (eight).

Embiid, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James are the only players to be named starters in each of the last four All-Star Games. In his fifth NBA season, Embiid has helped lead the 76ers to an Eastern Conference-best 19-10 record, holding averages of 29.7 points (fourth in the NBA, second in the East), 10.8 rebounds (12th in the NBA, seventh in the East), 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks in 32.5 minutes per game. No player in NBA history has posted such averages for a full season.

Over his last 12 games, Embiid has scored no fewer than 25 points, joining Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Iverson as the only 76ers ever to score 25 plus in a dozen-or-more consecutive games. Over that span, Embiid is averaging 34.0 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, while shooting .543 from the field and .400 from three-point range.

Embiid leads the league with averages of 9.7 free throws made and 11.3 free throws attempted per game. Just eight players have ever made better than 9.7 free throws per game for a full season, all Hall of Famers. His 222 made free throws are second in the NBA to Atlanta’s Trae Young, while the two are the only NBA players to make at least 200 free throws.

He and fellow 2021 All-Star starters Antetokounmpo and Denver’s Nikola Jokić are the only NBA players averaging at least 25 points and 10 rebounds this season. Embiid posted such averages in 2018-19 and is seeking to become the second 76er in franchise history to do so in multiple seasons, joining Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. The last 76er to average 29-plus points in a season was Iverson in 2005-06, while he and Chamberlain are the only Philadelphia players to do so.

Embiid leads the team with 20 20-point games, 12 30-point performances and two 40-point nights. His 15 double-doubles are 11th in the NBA and tied for seventh in the Eastern Conference, while his seven 30-point, 10-rebound outings are tied for the most in the NBA.

In the Eastern Conference frontcourt, Embiid finished second in media voting and third in both fan and player voting.

Fans accounted for 50 percent of the vote to determine the NBA All-Star Game starters, while current NBA players and a media panel accounted for 25 percent each.

After all votes were tallied, players were ranked in each conference by position (guard and frontcourt) within each of the three voting groups – fan votes, player votes and media votes. Each player’s score was calculated by averaging his weighted rank from the fan votes, the player votes and the media votes. The two guards and three frontcourt players with the best score in each conference were named NBA All-Star Game starters.

TNT will announce the NBA All-Star reserves, as selected by NBA head coaches, the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 23. The head coaches of each All-Star team will be the coaches of the teams with the best record in each conference through games played on Sunday, Feb. 21.

Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic named NBA Players of Month

The NBA announced today that Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić Western Conference Player of the Month for games played in December and January.

In his fifth NBA season, it’s Embiid’s second career Player of the Month selection. Embiid joins Hall of Famers Allen Iverson (four times), Charles Barkley (twice), Moses Malone (twice) and Julius Erving (three times) as the only 76ers players to win the award multiple times.

In 16 games between December and January, Embiid averaged 28.3 points (fourth in the NBA, second in the East), 11.1 rebounds (ninth in the NBA, sixth in the East), 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.3 blocks in 31.7 minutes per game. He was one of three NBA players to average 25 points and 10 rebounds through the season’s first month-plus, joining Western Conference Player of the Month Nikola Jokić and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. The 76ers were 14-2 in Embiid’s 16 games and are 15-6 overall on the season, leading the Eastern Conference.

Embiid scored in double figures in 13 of his 14 games, including two 40-plus point performances and a team-best 12 double-doubles. He’s the only player in the NBA with multiple 40-point, 10-rebound double-doubles. Embiid made 152 free throws during the season’s first month-plus, ranking second in the NBA, while leading the league in free throws made (9.5) and attempted per game (11.3). He was the only player in the league to make 16 free throws in multiple games. Iverson and Malone are the only 76ers ever to make at least nine free throws per game for an entire season.

Between Jan. 20-29, over a five-game span, Embiid averaged 35.6 points and 10.4 rebounds, while shooting .560 from the field and .429 from three-point range as the team went a perfect 5-0. He became just the third 76er ever to average 35 points and 10 rebounds over a five-game stretch, joining Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Barkley.

On Jan. 12 vs. Miami, Embiid tallied a season-high 45 points (16-23 FG, 13-13 FT), 16 rebounds, four assists and a career-high five steals in the team’s 137-134 overtime victory. It was his ninth career 40-point, 10-rebound game, adding his 10th such performance eight days later on Jan. 20 vs. Boston. In that game against the Celtics, Embiid had a game-high 42 points (12-19 FG, 17-21 FT) to go along with 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals in a 117-109 win. He committed just one turnover in the contest. Embiid scored 38 points on both Jan. 6 and Jan. 22 against Washington and Boston, respectively. In the Washington game, he added a game-high-tying eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks.

Jokić wins the award for the first time in his career and becomes the first Nugget to win since Carmelo Anthony in 2009 (Oct./Nov). Jokić joins Anthony, Fat Lever and Alex English as the only players in franchise history to be honored as Player of the Month.

Jokić, 25, averaged 27.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.80 steals while shooting .565 from the field, .381 from three-point range and .849 from the charity stripe in the month of January. In four games in December, he averaged 24.5 points, 13.5 assists, 11.5 rebounds and 1.50 steals, shooting .625 from the field and .400 from three. He helped lead the Nuggets to an 11-5 January, including a 7-2 road record, where currently they sit in fifth place in the Western Conference with a 12-8 record.

Jokić recorded five triple doubles, ranking second in the NBA, and had five games with 35+ points and 10+ rebounds. He also has posted a double-double in all 20 games, becoming the second player since 1976 to have a double-double in each of the first 20 games (Bill Walton). For the second time in his career, Jokić averaged at least 25.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists while shooting above 55.0% from the field in the month of January (min. 10 games) and is the only center since 1983 to record those numbers.

January was highlighted with a win vs. Utah on 1/31, where he tied a career-high 47 points (17-26 FG’s), 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals in 37 minutes, becoming the first Nugget to ever post those numbers. He scored 22 points in the first quarter and 33 points in the first half. It was the most points in a first half for a Nugget since 2007 (Iverson) and both were career-highs in any single quarter or half. Jokić had another huge performance at Phoenix on 1/23 on the second night of a back-to-back, finishing with 29 points (11-14 FT’s), a career-high 22 rebounds, six assists and one steal in 42 minutes. He started the season by recording a triple double in four of the first six games, including his performance on opening night vs. Sacramento where he posted 29 points, 15 rebounds, 14 assists and two blocks in 42 minutes. Jokić became one of five players all-time to record 350 points, 125 rebounds and 125 assists in the first 15 games of a season.

The Sombor, Serbia native, was named Western Conference Player of the Week in consecutive weeks to close out January. Amongst Western Conference players, he ranks first in PER, second in steals per game, second in total assists, third in points per game, fourth in assists per game and fourth in rebounds per game. In 20 games this season, Jokić is averaging 26.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 8.6 assists and 1.75 steals, shooting .574 from the field and .384 from three in 35.8 minutes.

Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic named NBA Players of Week

The NBA announced today that Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić named the Western Conference Player of the Week for games played between Monday, Jan. 18 and Sunday, Jan. 24.

In his fifth NBA season, it’s Embiid’s fifth career Player of the Week selection. Embiid joins Hall of Famers Charles Barkley (six times) and Allen Iverson (20) as the only players ever to earn the award at least five times as 76ers since its inception in 1979-80.

Embiid led the 76ers to a 3-0 week, with two wins over Boston and one over Detroit, producing at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in each contest. He posted no fewer than 33 points and 10 rebounds in any game. The last Philadelphia player to tally 33-10 in three straight games was Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain from Dec. 16-20, 1967.

He made 12-or-more free throws in all three games last week and attempted at least 15 in each. For the week, Embiid led the NBA with 113 total points (37.7 per game) and 43 made free throws, while shooting .611 from the field, .444 from beyond the arc and .811 from the free-throw line. On the season, Embiid’s average of 8.9 made free throws per game leads the league, while his 27.7 points per contest rank fifth and his rebounding average of 11.5 sits seventh. He, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Denver’s Nikola Jokić are the only NBA players averaging at least 25 points and 10 rebounds per game this season.

In last Wednesday’s 117-109 home win over Boston, Embiid posted 42 points (12-19 FG, 17-21 FT) and collected 10 rebounds in 33 minutes of action. It was his second 40-point game in eight days, and he, Washington’s Bradley Beal and Boston’s Jaylen Brown are the only NBA players with multiple 40-point efforts this season. Embiid is the only player to post 40 points and 10 rebounds in game this season, and he’s done so twice. He turned the ball over just once against the Celtics, the second time since 1979-80 a 76er has posted 40 points and 10 rebounds with one-or-fewer turnovers. The only other such performance was also by Embiid on March 17, 2019 at Milwaukee.

The 76ers hosted the Celtics again last Friday night to complete a two-game series. In a 122-110 victory, Embiid notched 38 points (11-15 FG, 2-2 3FG, 14-15 FT), collected 11 rebounds and handed out three assists. It was his fifth straight game (regular season or playoffs) against Boston with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, dating back to Aug. 19, 2020. Embiid and Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only players since 1976-77 with five straight 30-point, 10-rebound games against the Celtics.

Embiid closed out his week with a 33-point (10-20 FG, 12-17 FT), 14-rebound, two-block effort in a 114-110 win at Detroit, kicking off a two-game road series. It was his third consecutive 30-point, 10-rebound performance, marking the fourth time in his career he’s posted at least 30-10 in three-or-more straight games. The only other 76ers ever with as many such three-game streaks as Embiid are Barkley and Chamberlain. Further, it was the 50th 30-point, 10-rebound effort of Embiid’s career, a mark he reached within 223 career games. The only player to reach 50 such career games sooner than Embiid is Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, who did so in 190 contests.

Jokić wins the award for the first time this season and has now earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors seven times in his career, tying him with Alex English for the second most in franchise history.

Jokić, 25, averaged 29.0 points, 14.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.70 steals while shooting .522 from the field and .778 from the charity stripe. He helped lead the Nuggets to a 3-0 week, including a home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder and back-to-back road wins over the Phoenix Suns on consecutive nights. The 3-0 week also moved Denver’s record over the .500 mark for the first time this season.

Jokić started the week by registering 27 points (12-21 FG’s), 12 rebounds, six assists and one steal in a home win over the Thunder, his first career game with 27+ points, 12+ rebounds and 6+ assists in 28 minutes or less. Denver then headed to Phoenix for a back-to-back where he put up a stat-line of 31 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in 40 minutes as the Nuggets won in overtime. Jokić followed that performance up the next night with another massive game, finishing with 29 points, a career-high 22 rebounds, six assists and one steal in 42 minutes as the Nuggets prevailed in double overtime. He became one of five players all-time to record 350 points, 125 rebounds and 125 assists in the first 15 games of a season.

Jokić leads the NBA in total assists and is second in assists per game, while averaging 25.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, 9.6 assists and 1.90 steals in 35.7 minutes. He has also produced a double-double in all 16 games, becoming one of five players since 1976 to record a double-double in each of the first 16 games (Walton, Antetokounmpo, M. Malone, D. Sabonis).

Sixers have issues to solve heading into next NBA season

The Sixers’ story remains the same right now as it did heading into last season: a talented roster with flawed chemistry and some work to do should they aim to advance far in the playoffs. Here’s the Philly Voice:

While Doc Rivers brings credibility to the coach’s chair and front office changes should help out a beleaguered front office, they still have the same fundamental problems that caused them to unravel last season. The Al Horford problem is still waiting to be solved, and while Tobias Harris played his best basketball under Rivers in L.A., he did so in an ecosystem where he was the focal point, surrounded by excellent spacing he’ll likely never see here.

Another critical factor — the further we get into the careers of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, the less likely it seems either player is poised for a leap from talented All-Star to a title-winning leader. Embiid regressed on several fronts last season, openly unhappy with how the team had changed around him, and while Simmons’ defensive progress is hard to argue, his offensive shortcomings continue to hang over the team, with no significant change in sight.

New head coach Rivers has some compelling challenges ahead of him.

Should Mike D’Antoni get Sixers coaching job?

Mike D’Antoni has reportedly notified the Houston Rockets that he won’t be returning to the squad next season. His contract was up. The Sixers recently parted ways with head coach Brett Brown. Could D’Antoni be a fit? Here’s Philly Voice with some of the reasons why it could work:

If you want somebody to come to Philadelphia and run more pick-and-roll, look no further. D’Antoni’s spread pick-and-roll offense has coaxed the best out of both his ballhandlers and his big men, with rim-running threats like Amare Stoudemire and Clint Capela blossoming under his watch.

Joel Embiid doesn’t seem to fit the mold of that sort of player, but perhaps D’Antoni’s arrival would signal a change of emphasis for Embiid, who could do with a steadier diet of rim runs (and an improvement to his actual diet). Ben Simmons, however, feels like a natural fit as the athletic, downhill forward who can put pressure on the rim to create gaps for ballhandlers. D’Antoni is one of the game’s best stewards of positionless basketball, and Simmons would give him a terrific building block for all sorts of lineup experimentation.

Though D’Antoni has not had the strongest defensive reputation throughout his career — okay, that’s an understatement — the Sixers should be able to play high-level defense in almost any system with Embiid and Simmons as the building blocks. What they need is someone who can make their lives easier on offense, and extract more offensive value out of a jumbled collection of role players, easing the scoring burden on two guys still developing their games.

The Sixers are built around Embiid, Simmons, Tobias Harris and Al Horford. A somewhat confusing mix of players. The team’s offense is what does need the biggest help, as the Sixers were higher-rated on the defensive side of the floor this past season.

It’ll take a clever coach to help these guys take things to the next level. As well as some GM work on the roster, but that’s a discussion for another day.

Sixers look bad in Game 2 loss to Celtics

On Wednesday, the Celtics put up a convincing 128-101 Game 2 win against the Sixers to take a 2-0 first round playoff series lead.

NBC Sports Philly:

The Sixers were up against the odds heading into their first round matchup against the Celtics. No Ben Simmons, a team that failed to gel all year long, and tough recent postseason history against the Celtics? Not ideal.

But no one could’ve predicted the absolutely listless effort they put forth on Wednesday night in the second game of the series.

After taking a double-digit lead in the first quarter, the Sixers were outscored by 29 points in the second and third quarters combined, and looked more like a lottery team than a playoff participant. The Celtics got whatever they wanted, and the Sixers looked helpless.

In the win for the Celtics, Jayson Tatum hit 8-of-12 from three-point range in finishing with 33 points, five rebounds and five assists. Kemba Walker scored 22 points. Jaylen Brown added 20, plus five rebounds.

For the Sixers, Joel Embiid put up 34 points and 10 rebounds. Josh Richardson scored 18. Tobias Harris grabbed 11 rebounds, but shot just 4-of-15 for 13 points.

Al Horford, coming off the bench, was not a factor.

A huge difference was three-point shooting. The Celtics hit 19-of-32, while the Sixers only hit 5-of-21.

Philly is without Ben Simmons, while Boston is missing Gordon Hayward.

Sixers center Joel Embiid has been working on his fadeaway jumper

Sixers center Joel Embiid is already a dominant low-post player, and per the report below he spent some of the NBA play stoppage time working on his fadeaway jumpshot. Here’s ESPN.com reporting:

In addition to his work on passing out of double-teams, Embiid said the other thing he’s been working on during the hiatus since the season was suspended on March 11 was his fadeaway jumper — and he is very pleased about its progress.

“My fadeaways look great,” he said with a smile. “I’ve been working on them the past 2½ months, six times a week, just trying to perfect my game in any ways that I can, and I’ve been happy about that. It is something I’m going to need a lot, especially when other teams double me every single possession. I can’t let that dictate the way I play.

“So, sometimes you have to make the right play, and sometimes pass it, and if I feel like I have an opportunity to be myself and dominate, then that’s a shot I’m going to get. So that’s what I’ve been excited about.”

If Embiid truly has developed a mean fadeaway, it’ll make him even harder to guard, and that’s saying a lot.

The fascinating matchup of Joel Embiid vs. Marc Gasol

On Sunday, the Sixers, playing at home in Philly, handled the Raptors, 110-104.

In the win, Tobias Harris scored 26 points, Matisse Thybulle added 20 off the bench, and Ben Simmons put up 16 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Sixers center Joel Embiid had a rough day, finishing with 10 points, eight rebounds, and six assists — but seven turnovers.

In the loss, Kyle Lowry scored 26, while starting center Marc Gasol had a miserable statline of 0 for 6 shooting, 0 points and four rebounds in 30 minutes.

But the Embiid vs Gasol matchup is fascinating. Here’s the Toronto Sun reporting, prior to today’s game:

In six regular-season games between the two bigs, only one of them since Gasol became a Raptor, Embiid has shot just 29% against Gasol’s defence. In the past three regular-season meetings, not including last night’s game, Embiid is a combined 8-for-39 against Gasol including that 0-for-11 in the only previous meeting this year when Embiid didn’t even get one from the free throw line where he was 0-for-3 for the first, and probably last, scoreless game of his NBA career.

The Sixers and Raptors are right next to each other in the East standings, and their records could be close all season. This will be worth paying attention to, right through the postseason.

 

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Joel Embiid practice update

Sixers center Joel Embiid is still under careful health watch by the team. How long this will go on, no one knows. Here’s the Philadephia Inquirer with the latest:

The 76ers plan to give Joel Embiid a day off periodically to rest. The first one came Monday, three days into training camp.

But Embiid did participate in a post-practice one-on-one drill against a staff member, along with Dario Saric.

“We had two great days and tomorrow he’ll come in, and it’s sort of a game day for us,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said in reference to the Blue and White scrimmage at 7 Tuesday night at Penn. “We’ll come in, have a shootaround, then go to the Palestra and play in front of a fantastic crowd. We just felt like, let him have today to rest and we’re going to jump back into it tomorrow.”

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Joel Embiid hopes to begin playing back-to-backs by late January

The Sixers have gotten used to the fact that their star center, Joel Embiid, isn’t being utilized in back-to-back games. It’s a tough thing, for a team to have a great center to count on – but inconsistently. It throws things off. But Embiid, sharing some wishful thinking, hopes that in the fairly near future he’ll be playing every game. Here’s the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting:

Joel Embiid hopes to begin playing back-to-backs

“I just need not to take days off,” Embiid said after Thursday’s shoot-around for that night’s game against Boston Celtics at TD Garden. “It’s not on me. It’s on the medical staff. But hopefully, back-to-backs by the end of this month, I will be allowed to play.”

The Sixers’ only remaining back-to-back situation this month will come Jan. 28 at the Oklahoma City Thunder and Jan. 29 at the Milwaukee Bucks. He has missed at least one game of the five back-to-back situations they’ve already had this season.

In all, Embiid has missed nine games total because of rest, back tightness and knee rehabilitation. The 23-year-old underwent left knee surgery in March. Embiid, who’s still getting in shape, said he was at 81 percent of where he wants to be.

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