That Joel Embiid Win Was About More Than the MVP

Andrew Unterberger is a famous writer who invented the nickname 'Sauce Castillo' and writes for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez, as part of the 'If Not, Pick Will Convey As Two Second-Rounders' section of the site. You can follow Andrew on Twitter @AUGetoffmygold and can also read him at Billboard. 

Andrew's writing is brought to you by Kinetic Skateboarding! Not only the Ricky's approved skate shop, but the best place to get Chucks, Vans, any apparel. Use code "DAVESILVER" for 9.1% off your order.

---

Last January, when Joel Embiid throttled the Denver Nuggets for 47 and 18 in a seven-point home win, I could have fist-pumped all the way through my ceiling. It was a howl at the moon, kick your best friend in the shin sort of performance: cathartic, validating, satisfying in just about every way conceivable. It was the first real reason we had to believe that this would finally be The Year -- maybe for the championship third-round playoff run we all dreamed of, but certainly for Joel Embiid's MVP campaign, with his vanquishing of Jokic in their first face-to-face of the year seemingly a top-line item in establishing his resumé to finally finish ahead of Jokic in the voting. (It was subsequently nullified, at least in the eyes of many pundits, by his no-showing the rematch a few months later. But still.) 

Tuesday night didn't really feel like that. It was also great, of course -- a huge win powered by a superlative Embiid 41/7/10 showing, as well as some absolutely brilliant moments for Tyrese Maxey, Nicolas Batum, and of course, Stan Van Gundy golden boy Tobias Harris. But that catharsis wasn't really there this time: It didn't feel to me like Embiid or the Sixers really proved anything that they hadn't already, didn't seem like any particular scores were being settled. It was a good game, and a good win over a good team, but that's about it: It was a win Embiid and the Sixers really wanted, but maybe not one that they necessarily needed.

And that's awesome. That's dope, really it is. Because we don't need Embiid to prove he's better than Jokic this regular season -- that's some last-year regular season shit. We need Joel to be ready for what's to come. And this game was pretty encouraging that he will be. 

Let's make one thing clear first, though: Joel maybe didn't need to win this game, but he did kinda need to play this game. I think most of us sorta assumed him sitting it was inevitable -- particularly once it was announced he'd be suiting up for Houston the day before -- and it would've been excusable, given his recent missed time and lingering injury concerns. But as much as the narrative about him ducking Jokic by sitting the second matchup last year was likely at least somewhat overblown, I do think there's a deleterious impact to missing too many games like that: both for Joel's psyche, and the overmatched teammates who he leaves to fend for themselves in his absence. Last year, he might've had more to lose by getting spanked by Jokic while playing compromised, but this year, showing up regardless was unquestionably the move. And he deserves credit for doing whatever he had to do to make sure he was there for it -- whether that meant sitting a game more than absolutely necessary last week, or sitting the whole fourth against Houston even when the game was only mostly out of reach. 

I would've been fine -- well, not fine, but you know -- with Joel showing up for a workmanlike 32 and 11 or whatever and fading down the stretch as a healthier and better-rested Jokic powered the defending champs to a road victory. And what we did get wasn't a perfect Embiid performance, for sure: His defensive passivity (particularly after picking up an early foul) played a major part in the Nuggets' 78-point first half, he got absolutely brutalized by Jokic on the offensive glass throughout, and his possibly tired legs down the stretch (no moreso than Tyrese Maxey, to be fair) meant he struggled to find the killshot to really put the reeling Nuggets away late. But those are pretty petty quibbles to have with a guy who posted 41 points and 10 assists -- with fewer turnovers than Jokic to boot -- and mostly put the game away upon re-entering midway through the fourth. He was incredible. He was the reigning MVP. He was very likely the current MVP. 

But my favorite thing about this game was that it wasn't really about that -- the MVP part, anyway. Both one of the most frustrating and most relatable things about Embiid is that when he has an agenda in a particular game, it's almost always immediately transparent in his play: Whether he wants to hit a particular scoring benchmark, respond to specific criticism about his game or simply bury Ben Simmons underneath the floorboards, you can usually tell what he's going for by the second or third possession. I didn't feel him pressing for any of that last night: His game felt varied, smooth, organic. He shot six threes which I love (and so does Nick Nurse) (but I love it more). He mixed up scoring and passing, but not in that old Kobe "OK y'all eat then I eat" way or in that trademark-Jo "oh shit I need how many assists for a triple-double now?" way. He made the right plays. He let the streak end (though not really). He got the win. 

He also called Jokic `the best player in the league" in the post-game broadcast, which I guess some people didn't like (pity poor Zach Lowe in that clip). I liked it though. I don't think Joel believes it in his heart of hearts -- like all true Sixers, Joel is of course a liar, as Michael Wilbon even points out in that clip (and Lowe aggressively points along with), he very likely could've said something totally different as soon as he got back to the locker room. But I think Joel is also realist enough -- and in tune with NBA discourse enough -- to know that the consensus will be as such until at least this postseason, and he does legitimately respect Jokic -- knows he's legit, unlike so many other pretenders he's dealt with as peers over the years. He knows he really has nothing to lose by acknowledging Jokic's current perch atop the NBA ladder, particularly after captaining a decently convincing win. Nothing except, maybe, some MVP consideration. 

I'm not totally there yet, but I'm getting closer and closer to hoping Joel doesn't make the 65-game threshold for MVP this year. I think he needed to win it last year and I think maybe he needs to lose it this year. I respect Spike's right-is-right campaigning and if Jo does hit the game minimum while maintaining his NBA-best production -- and leading the Sixers to a 67-win pace when he plays, btw -- I'll certainly advocate for him to win. But maybe the same way that Tyrese needs to shed a little of his smiliness to get to the next level, Joel needs to put a little of his accolade-chasing to bed to achieve his own final form. Sit the games he'd probably sit anyway and let the league's new rules draw the ire of the Process Faithful rather than Jokic and his media lackeys. Everyone wins -- hopefully including Joel, in the May and June games that he really does need to win this year.