Sixers’ Joel Embiid touts center position, James Harden remains sidelined with Achilles soreness

DENVER — There was a time when Joel Embiid might have seemed delusional.

Earlier in his career, the 76ers standout was on a crusade to bring the center position back into the limelight. He utilized social media trolls to spark feuds with Andre Drummond and Hassan Whiteside, two of the league’s top centers at the time.

While that brought attention to those head-to-head matchups, the NBA remained a guard-driven league.

» READ MORE: Sixers’ Joel Embiid out for MVP showdown with Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic

But it turns out that Embiid was a visionary.

Fast forward to this season, he and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić are among the league’s best players.

Jokić was voted league MVP the previous two seasons with Embiid finishing as runner-up. Embiid is this season’s MVP frontrunner ahead of Jokić and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. And the two centers have helped to change how the position is viewed.

Despite being 7-foot-2, 280 pounds, Embiid possesses guard-like skills. He’s incorporated some of Kobe Bryant’s moves in his repertoire. Meanwhile, Jokić is a walking triple-double as a point center. And their head-to-head battles have been must-see TV.

Tightness in Embiid’s right calf prevented him from facing Jokić in Monday night’s game between the Sixers and Nuggets at Ball Arena. But he takes pride in the center position and appreciates that they are now being recognized.

“At the end of the day, I’ve been talking about the extension of bigs for so long, and Giannis won two in a row. [Jokić's] won two in a row,” he said. “And this year, it’s going to be another big that’s going to win it, again. So it’s just cool to see. I’m just happy that I’m part of the evolution. Now if you have one of those types of big, you have a chance against anybody.”

Embiid pointed to Antetokounmpo, a 7-footer, as part of the evolution of the big man. Antetokoumpo plays multiple positions at a high level.

» READ MORE: For Sixers coach Doc Rivers and Joel Embiid, it’s all about being healthy for NBA playoffs

Embiid, meanwhile, is on pace to win his second consecutive league scoring title. He’s averaging a league-best 33.3 points per games.

While Embiid missed Monday’s game, the Sixers the expectation was that the Sixers would welcome backstandout point guard James Harden and reserve forward Danuel House Jr.

However, Harden was downgraded to out 30 minutes before the game. This comes after he looked great during his post-shootaround workout. Harden ended the workout by bouncing the ball off the backboard and dunking the putback.

Harden will miss his fourth consecutive game with inflammation and soreness in his left Achilles. He injured his Achilles during the Sixers matchup with the Bulls at the Wells Fargo Center on March 20.

House was sidelined two games with right shoulder soreness will play. He injured his shoulder while colliding with Chicago Bulls center Andre Drummond on Wednesday at the United Center.

The Sixers (49-25) headed into Monday night’s game one victory shy of their 20th 50-win campaign in franchise history. With eight games remaining, they’re expected to reach that milestone for the fourth straight time in seasons with a normal 82-game campaign.

They went 43-30 during the 2019-20 season, which was interrupted by the pandemic. The Sixers, who resumed the season in the bubble, played 73 games that season. The next season the NBA scheduled a 72-game regular season, and the Sixers finished 49-23.