Joel Embiid’s 70-point outburst will serve as a signature moment for a singular season
This season, as the game has slowed down for Embiid and he has engaged in open communication with new coach Nick Nurse, the Sixers center has become more dominant.
A lot of Joel Embiid’s current historic season is associated with how first-year 76ers coach Nick Nurse is utilizing the reigning MVP.
The players’ roles have also changed since James Harden was sent to the Los Angeles Clippers. Embiid is more of the focal point in the offense. But Nurse deserves lot of credit for how he’s using the 7-foot-2, 280-pound center.
It’s not that Nurse’s schemes utilize Embiid much differently than former coach Doc Rivers.
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The six-time All-Star is dangerous with the ball in the middle of the floor. Embiid sets up about 15 feet from the basket, a spot where he’s hard to double-team and can see the whole court.. Embiid is also benefitting from a deadly 15-foot jumper and improved passing. That has made defenses think twice before crowding him.
This season, as the game has slowed down for Embiid and he has engaged in open communication with Nurse, he has become more dominant. Nurse also made sure to place him in the right spots to continue that dominance.
Those factors were evident Monday night when he finished with a franchise-record 70 points to go along 18 rebounds, five assists, and just one turnover in the 133-123 home victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
The performance marked the first time in NBA history that a player had registered at least 70 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists in a game. Embiid’s point total was also an NBA season-high, surpassing the 64 points Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo scored against the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 13.
Embiid is on his way to winning his third consecutive NBA scoring title. The six-time All-Star is averaging a league-best 36.1 points. His average is well ahead of runner-up Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks point guard, who’s scoring 33.6 points a night.
Embiid is also fifth in the league in rebounds (11.6) and tied for 10th with Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porziņģis for 10th in blocks (1.9). And he’s averaging a career-best 5.9 assists.
» READ MORE: Joel Embiid channels idol Kobe Bryant as he scores 70 and breaks Wilt Chamberlain’s Sixers scoring record
But his ability to score is something the league hasn’t seen from a big man since ... well, Wilt Chamberlain.
Averaging his 36.1 points in 34.3 minutes, Embiid is on pace to join Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain as the only NBA players since the 1954-55 season to finish with more points than minutes played. Chamberlain averaged 50.4 points in 48.5 minutes for the Philadelphia Warriors during the 1961-62 season.
Monday also marked the 21st consecutive game in which Embiid scored at least 30 points, breaking a tie with Chamberlain for the fifth-longest such streak in NBA history. Chamberlain owns three of the next four streaks ahead of Embiid.
And it was Chamberlain’s single-game franchise record that Embiid shattered Monday night. The West Philly native and former Overbrook High School great was acquired by the Sixers in a trade from the San Francisco Warriors on Jan. 15, 1965. He scored 68 points versus the Chicago Bulls for the Sixers on Dec. 16, 1967.
“Obviously, he can score in so many ways and just like his sheer size gets him a lot of stuff around the basket and gets him a lot of free throws,” Nurse said of Embiid. “And then the shooting touch and all that stuff is the skill part that makes it, again, extra hard to stop him.
“But, I think again, we know the way he moves, and the skill he is, the size he is all that kind of stuff and when he gets motivated like that anything can happen, I guess.”
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With Harden gone, the Sixers have better spacing and pacing, which enables Embiid to operate more freely. Embiid is an extremely smart player, one who knows when teams are in the penalty and how to draw fouls. He also knows how to find open teammates.
Even Monday night, while going for 70 points, Embiid made a great pass to Danuel House Jr., for a running finger-roll layup. He also connected on a no-look bounce pass to Kelly Oubre Jr. on a backdoor cut. They were another sign that Embiid has matured as a player and is being utilized properly.
But it’s Embiid’s shooting that has made him dangerous. He’s knocking down mid-range jumpers like putbacks, making him one of the NBA’s best mid-range shooters, a list that includes guards and wings. He’s connecting on 56.8% of his two-point shots.
That development has been impressive from Embiid, a towering player in the midst of an unforgettable regular season.
“I think I’m just taking whatever the defense is giving me,” Embiid said after Monday’s game. “And I just try to prepare myself ... I just watch a lot of film and just try to see what the defenses do. And what I’m mostly proud of is, that I feel like double teams, I’ve gotten so much better just handling them … just attacking before doubles come.”