Joel Embiid is a terrific man, according to Nikola Jokic. “I don’t think anyone can stop him one-on-one.”
The centres at the centre of the NBA’s most heated continuing dispute showed their fans that they had no enmity towards one another with a hug on Tuesday.
Even if their attitudes towards the hate from fans varied greatly: they are more indifferent than they are cynical.
Joel Embiid stated in a TNT interview that he told Nikola Jokic during the embrace—that Jokic is the best player in the league—after Embiid scored 41 points in the Sixers’ 126-121 victory over the Nuggets.
“We were just talking. He came, and we just hugged it out,” Embiid elaborated afterward. “It’s funny because (on) Twitter, they have a war going on between Philly fans and Denver fans. And it’s funny because both of us are just like, ‘Who cares?’ We just want to play basketball and win some games. But he deserves (the title of best in the NBA). Until you knock him down, that’s the best in the league, and he’s the Finals MVP. So until someone else takes that away, then you can claim that.
“But then again,” Embiid continued, smiling, “I also believe in myself. … I’ve just gotta get there.”
Embiid appeared to be conceding in his postgame remarks the well-established criticism leveled against the league’s MVP candidate—his playoff record. Denver’s “Twitter war” response to the most recent Jokic defeat in Philadelphia is self-explanatory: Jokic is coming off a 16–4 playoff run to the title, while Embiid has yet to win a second-round series.
But the truest contrast between the future Hall of Fame big men — basketball skillsets, career résumés or otherwise — might be how plugged in they are to the online fodder Embiid addressed. When Jokic was asked Tuesday if he believes the matchup is good for the league from a fan and marketing perspective, he shrugged his shoulders: “I really don’t know the answer, my friend. I mean, probably it is. Maybe it is. It was national TV, so hopefully it is.”
Jokic finished the loss with 25 points, 19 rebounds, three assists and four turnovers as Philadelphia switched up defensive strategies throughout the night. A cast of smaller players including Tobias Harris and Patrick Beverley guarded him the first three quarters, even picking him up full-court when he wore his point center hat. Jokic took advantage at the rim by snatching a career-high 11 offensive rebounds by the end of the third. Then Embiid matched up against him more traditionally in the fourth, rather than guarding Aaron Gordon and roaming in help.
Denver’s second-chance points, which were the source of its survival, were eliminated. In the final 12 minutes, Jokic did not add any more offensive rebounds, and the 76ers went on a devastating 18-2 run.
“We did the exact opposite of what we did last year.” Embiid declared. “We switched it (to smalls, like P.J. Tucker) after we started with me on Jokic last year. .. All you have to do is mix it up. That applies to all exceptional players. Give them the same look again, and eventually they will figure it out.”
On the other side, Gordon rather than Jokic was Embiid’s main defensive opponent. Despite the final box score, Gordon and the Nuggets defended him well in the third quarter, which set the stage for a 12-0 run for Denver.
Embiid dismissed that like Jokic responding to a query regarding Twitter. He said that Embiid was to blame for playing too much in isolation.
During Philadelphia’s game-winning run in the fourth quarter, he scored ten straight points, making his arrival unavoidable.
The man is incredible, Jokic exclaimed. “I don’t think anyone can stop him one-on-one.”
He and his colleagues thus somewhat double-teamed Embiid in an attempt to correct it. The outcome was comparable to what most teams see when they decide to double Jokic: Embiid had a 10-assist performance through three quarters and the team’s output outside of the arc was 41.4%.
Tyrese Maxey, finally unleashed as Philadelphia’s alpha guard with James Harden traded to the Clippers, accounted for four of those 3-pointers. He and Embiid have developed a superb two-man game with increased reps this season — 76ers coach Nick Nurse called Maxey vs. Jamal Murray the undercard matchup to Jokic/Embiid — and the Nuggets left Maxey open too often in mostly futile attempts to contain the main card.
“Like our two-man game, you have a great center and a very good guard,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “And Joel can pick-and-pop for three. He can catch the ball in the pocket and finish. Maxey can shoot the three off the pick-and-roll. He can turn the corner and get into the paint. And then around that, they have quality shooting.”
In a chess match that the NBA community typically views as a biennial referendum on the MVP race, Malone and Nurse have 11 days to carefully contemplate their next move. Additional additional coverages? Mano a mano, straight again? or a mix of both? Jokic’s career record versus Embiid is currently 2–6. But the fact that Embiid hasn’t performed in Denver since 2019 casts a shadow over that record.
“He plays the game pretty well. By now, he’s legendary,” Jokic remarked. “Every night, he scores thirty or so points on average. And it’s very difficult to accomplish that, particularly every night. I’m not trying to outdo him, though. I’m taking on Philadelphia in this game.”
Embiid concurred, adding, “It wasn’t about the matchup between the bigs.” He saw Tuesday’s game as a team-wide yardstick to see how the 76ers compare to the reigning champions.