Will Joel Embiid's MVP push cost him a title?
Joel Embiid finally won an MVP this year. But he's also fighting a knee injury in the second round.
Embiid got 72 out of 100 first-place votes for MVP in a year where he led the league in scoring with 33.1 points per game. He played 66 games, including 32 out of 35 in one stretch, before sitting out the last two games.
Embiid was playing hard, too, notching games of 52 and 46 points in the final three weeks, and playing more than 44 minutes in another.
While the effort answered questions about Embiid's durability that have dogged his previous MVP campaigns - Embiid finished second after playing just 51 games in 2020-21 - it might have worn him down for the playoffs.
Philadelphia's big man is averaging 18.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and three assists in the playoffs, down from his regular-season averages of 33.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists. It's the biggest scoring dropoff (14.3 points) of anyone in the playoffs this year.
Most of that damage is coming from the free-throw line, as Embiid has made more free throws (30) than field goals (22). He's also turning the ball over 4.5 times per game.
Embiid suffered an LCL sprain in Game 3 of the 76ers' first-round series. Based on Embiid's comments, it was a Grade 3 sprain, which generally carries a recovery time of four to six weeks.
The recovery time for Embiid? Less than two weeks, so he's clearly playing hurt. But it's hard not to wonder if he'd be healthier if he'd rested more down the stretch, instead of caring so much about the MVP award.
By comparison, second-place finisher Nikola Jokic sat out five of Denver's last seven games. Even when he did play, Jokic shunned the offensive load for the Nuggets, attempting more than 20 shots in a game only twice after March 1. Embiid took 20 or more shots 10 times and put up 19 shots twice. It's simply more tiring to take the scoring burden.
There's nothing Embiid can do about it now, and the series has just one rest day between games through Game 6. But perhaps after a series of second-round playoff flameouts, Embiid is content knowing that at least he'll have one trophy after this season is over.
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