Joel Embiid’s MVP case by the numbers | Sports Daily
Embiid leads the league in scoring, but what do the rest of the numbers say about his case when compared to Denver's Nikola Jokić?
Joel Embiid leads the NBA in scoring at 29.6 points per game and has the Sixers near the top of the Eastern Conference even though Ben Simmons sat out the entire season before his trade to Brooklyn. He’s a legitimate candidate for MVP, but is he the leader at this point in the season?
Using a few key metrics, The Inquirer’s David Murphy breaks down Embiid’s case to try to quantify if he has done enough to pass reigning MVP Nikola Jokić as the front-runner for the 2022 award.
— Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport
Does the arrival of James Harden help or hurt Joel Embiid’s case to win MVP? Tell us at sports.daily@inquirer.com
Extra Innings
Logan O’Hoppe was soaring through the Phillies’ minor-league system in 2021. The 22-year-old catching prospect started the season at high-A Jersey Shore and climbed all the way to triple-A Lehigh Valley. Meanwhile, his dad was in the battle of his life after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. And through it all, it was the father who was in awe of his son’s perseverance.
Off the Dribble
Throughout Joel Embiid’s career, his only Achilles’ heel has been availability. He’s aware of that and his attention to his body is heightened as he enters a crucial 24-game stretch to close out what could become an MVP season and a deep postseason run.
Embiid spoke about the importance of staying healthy over the next few months. He acknowledged past pitfalls but remained steadfast in his approach to the game, saying he never considered taking his foot off the brake.
“My mindset was always, like, just going on the court,” Embiid said. “Whatever happens happens.” We’ll see what happens to end the Sixers’ season.
Next: The Sixers don’t return to the court until Friday at 8 p.m., when they play the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road. New acquisition James Harden could make his Sixers debut in that game.
On the Fly
Another hard-fought game, another loss for the Flyers. They hung in late against a strong opponent in the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night but still wound up with a 4-1 defeat. The Flyers have lost six straight.
Fleet Street
Tuesday proved to be a landmark day in American soccer, as six years after their initial complaint, the stars of the United States women’s national team accepted a $24 million settlement from U.S. Soccer to resolve their equal-pay lawsuit.
The agreement calls for the players to receive a $22 million direct payment, to be “distributed in a manner proposed by the USWNT players” and approved by the federal court, Tuesday’s announcement said. U.S. Soccer will put the other $2 million in “an account to benefit the USWNT players in their post-career goals and charitable efforts related to women’s and girls’ soccer.”
U.S. Soccer also said it is committed to providing an equal rate of pay going forward for the women’s and men’s national teams in all friendlies and tournaments, including the World Cup.
Worth a look
From Broad Street to Beale Street: The Memphis Tigers might be listed as the road team on Thursday night against Temple, but the game will serve as a homecoming for some of them. Stud freshman Jalen Duren, who played at Roman Catholic, and former 76ers coach Larry Brown are part of the Memphis program. As the Tigers climb back into the NCAA Tournament picture (they’ve won six of seven), Mike Jensen takes a look at their Philly influence.
Great Scott! The USFL and the Philadelphia Stars are back, and with the team’s first draft pick (third overall), they selected quarterback Bryan Scott of Occidental College. The 26-year-old has played in the Canadian Football League and the Spring League and also has attended NFL rookie camps with the Chiefs and Falcons. Scott was named the MVP of the Spring League championship.
Sister Act: Twins Hailey and Myla Barnett are both star athletes at the University of Virginia, but not in the sports some might expect. Mike Sielski writes on how the daughters of former Eagles wide receiver Fred Barnett and Jacqueline Jeffries Barnett, Philadelphia’s former secretary of education, have defied preconceptions and racial stereotypes to make it in their respective sports.
Cats scratched at end: In a classic Big East tussle in Hartford, UConn scored five points in the last 20.9 seconds, rallying for a 71-69 victory against No. 8 Villanova.
We asked you
If you were the Flyers GM, name the players you would keep for next season.
You answered: “Joel Farabee and Carter Hart. Not possible but that’s it. Everyone else is expendable.” — Kevin M.
“I’d keep Hart, Farabee, and Coots [Sean Couturier]. But if Coots gets us the #1 pick in the draft or the next league superstar, then I’d trade him as well. Maybe we get back to being a playoff team. But, we are so far away from being an elite team, a perennial Stanley Cup contender, that it is time to blow it up. — Mike S.
“Coots, Hayes, Konecny, Laughton, Ratcliffe, Lindblom, Frost, Farabee, Sanheim and Hart.” — Chris T.
Wednesday wisdom
Newest Sixer Willie Cauley-Stein is just the eighth “Willie” to play in the NBA and the third Sixer. The others? Current New Orleans Pelicans coach Willie Green (2003-10) and Willie Burton, who averaged 15.3 ppg in his lone season in Philadelphia (1994-95).
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from David Murphy, Mike Sielski, Jonathan Tannenwald, Olivia Reiner, Mike Jensen, Keith Pompey, Scott Lauber, Giana Han, and Josh Tolentino.