For sure, Embiid was also kinda statpadding at the end to secure it. I don't think him winning was controversial. People keep bringing up the playoffs like it means anything
Seriously. I think in 3 yrs he should be out of the league (for his own good) but will hang around for another 2 Rocket River
Except that Jokic was better than Embiid in the regular season, and pretty much 90% of advanced stats back it up.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39470380/76ers-joel-embiid-least-4-weeks-knee-procedure Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid underwent a left knee procedure on Tuesday morning and will be reevaluated in approximately four weeks, the team announced. The next few weeks of recovery and rehabilitation will be paramount, but there's belief that the door remains open for Embiid's return in the regular season, sources told ESPN. Embiid, the reigning MVP, has sustained injuries to both knees in his career, and this one comes at an inopportune time for him and the Sixers. The All-Star center is leading the NBA in scoring with 35.3 points a game and was on pace to join Wilt Chamberlain as the only other player to average at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in a season. He's also on pace to become only the second player (Chamberlain in 1961-62) to average at least one point per minute played. Embiid, 29, missed Game 5 of the Sixers' 2021 first-round playoff series vs. the Washington Wizards with a small meniscus tear in his right knee and had season-ending surgery on his left meniscus in 2016-17, missing 37 games. The 76ers have lost six of their past seven games and have fallen to fifth in the Eastern Conference standings. Embiid will fall well short of the league's 65-game minimum to earn postseason awards; he's stuck at 34 games now.
He is probably done for the year Philly has to sell tickets and they probably will keep hope alive Rocket River
Harden wanted a trade because of Morey. Harden took significantly less money by opting out and taking a smaller contract with a wink wink deal that he was going to get taken care off this season. Morey didn't intend to give Harden the deal so Harden forced a deal to the Clippers. Balmer will give it to him because Balmer makes 1 billion a year in Microsoft dividends on top of all his other money. Balmer can literally afford to buy a sports team every 2-3 years from his Microsoft dividends. Crazy!!!!!
90% is a big number. I don't know that that's actually true or what the denominator is. Also the trad stats were arguably in Embiid's favor. As for the advnaced stats sure, some of that stuff like VORP, +/-, whatever back it up, some don't - but Jokic is on a team that's basically optimized around him and also optimized to make his advanced stats LOOK AMAZING because the bench is intentionally loaded with trash or more accurately, guys that don't function well without Jokic on the floor. Jokic is great! but he is on a team that is designed to maximize his strengths and be awful when he is not on the floor. Embiid - basically has whatever Morey and his predecessors could cobble together out of Process remnants. I don't know how you'd build a team around Embiid, but Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr are the ideal front court mates for Jokic in a way that ... Tobias Harris? was not the ideal complement to Embiid. Also, it was clear last season that he was basically dogging it for the last few months of the season and not really trying that hard - Embiid meanwhile was scoring tons of points because he was actually trying to win the MVP. That should count, IMO.
Jokic took ~8 games off late in the season because he and the Nuggets were more focused on the playoffs and didn't give a care about winning MVP. On the other hand, Embiid was whining like a baby and begging for people to show him respect. He finished the season playing hard, went all-out for his prize and won it. Yay! But he was worn and torn and missed games in both rounds of the playoffs. Embiid's whining and begging late last season diminished my view of him but I don't hold him responsible for Perkins' racist nonsense.
