Joel Embiid is having arguably the greatest season of his career, a high bar for a player coming off an MVP win. With his incredible form, he was one of the marquee talents available to watch on Christmas Day, but the 76ers have announced that Embiid has been ruled out due to an ankle sprain. Fans are not happy, mocking Embiid for ducking a good team like the Miami Heat.
“76ers list Joel Embiid as out for Monday’s Christmas Day game vs. Heat due to an ankle sprain.”
76ers list Joel Embiid as out for Monday's Christmas Day game vs. Heat due to an ankle sprain.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 24, 2023
Fans quickly started making jokes about Embiid missing marquee matchups.
https://twitter.com/StepBackPascal/status/1739036369908056525
Fans continued to joke about Embiid’s lack of desire to play contenders and racking up gaudy numbers against weak opponents.
https://twitter.com/tronnniel/status/1739059607522468100
Fans are upset they won’t get to see Embiid be guarded by Bam Adebayo.
Embiid and Bam Adebayo was supposed to give us the game of the year pic.twitter.com/yjCDtlEYjs https://t.co/B0u2LfhK76
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) December 24, 2023
Fans claimed Embiid was scared of playing teams over .500.
https://twitter.com/StepBackPascal/status/1739036662704050597
The jokes about ducking elite opposition continued to fly.
THE MVP DUCKING BAM AND JIMMY ON CHRISTMAS pic.twitter.com/oqQvgKAVIa
— De🅿️ressed Warriors Fan 💔 (@GoIdenState) December 24, 2023
Fans said that dodging Bam Adebayo as your matchup for an elite center was not right.
dodging bam is crazy
— 𝙥𝙖𝙡 💫 (@YourCDLPal) December 24, 2023
Fans were upset that Embiid had left a hole in the Christmas Day slate.
Embarrassing ruining some kids day who was excited to see him play on Christmas
— 👑🎭 (@Br0nToLA23) December 24, 2023
It’s easy to joke about Embiid missing marquee games, but the logic behind the move cannot be argued. The league has started cracking down on players missing nationally televised games, so missing this matchup is likely not a choice for Joel. Even though his success in December has come against weaker teams, that doesn’t mean he’s ‘ducking’ the Heat. He is genuinely dealing with an injury sustained in Philly’s last game against the Toronto Raptors.
Embiid recently went up against the best team in the NBA, who also have the best defense in the league this season, and dropped 51 points. Joel Embiid proved he’s not scared of anyone in that performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves, matching up against one of the early contenders for the Defensive Player of the Year award, Rudy Gobert.
Joel is averaging 40.2 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks in December, getting on pace to become the first player since Wilt Chamberlain in 1961-62 to average more points scored than minutes played.
Joel Embiid On Pace To Repeat As MVP
Even though people want to make themselves believe that Embiid is ducking opponents, there isn’t a big case for it this season. However, there is a concerning trend developing in terms of the caliber of teams he did miss games against.
He’s missed three games this season, all coming in November against the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, and New Orleans Pelicans. With the impending missed game against the Heat, it’ll mean Embiid has missed four games against teams above .500. I chalk it up to misfortunes as compared to an active attempt to duck teams. In the games he has played against strong opponents or weak opponents, he has dominated and established himself as the front-runner in MVP conversations.
He’s averaging d 35.0 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists for the season, on pace to also win his third scoring title in as many years. His incredible skill on the court has allowed the 76ers to sustain the blow of trading last season’s assists leader James Harden for expiring salaries and picks. They’re still among the contenders in the east and are primed to make a big addition before the trade deadline.
People want to rule the 76ers out every season after they collapse in the playoffs, but Embiid keeps giving people hope. His legacy will be defined by what he does in the playoffs, so even another MVP win won’t be enough to get his doubters off his back.
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