It's Friday -- time for 10 NBA things I like and dislike! This week, we explore one-man defense from Joel Embiid, make pleas for Nikola Vucevic and Karl-Anthony Towns and reveal a unheralded skill that Stephen Curry is quietly passing along.
1. The majesty of Joel Embiid's defense
Embiid would be a long shot right now to appear on Defensive Player of the Year or Most Valuable Player ballots. The first four MVP spots are Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic in some order -- leaving one spot for a bundle of candidates (including Embiid). Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert are front-runners for Defensive Player of the Year, with tons of guys in the fray -- including some new perimeter candidates in Mikal Bridges and Alex Caruso.
Embiid has missed 11 games. He has battled injuries and COVID-19, so it's natural he hasn't been the same unstoppable player -- mostly due to a drop-off in midrange shooting. (That jumper has looked better over the last week. Embiid weaponizing it last season was maybe the biggest reason he vaulted up the MVP conversation.)
But Embiid remains one of sports' majestic forces -- a big man with soft feet, and a cagey defensive IQ that gets overshadowed because fans gravitate to the sheer spectacle of his size and power.
Like Gobert, Embiid is a one-man defensive architecture -- with a more telegenic appetite for gladiatorial confrontation. Even as Embiid finds his form, the Sixers have allowed only 105.7 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor -- and almost 112 when he sits. That with-Embiid figure would rank fourth among all teams. Opponents are shooting 7.7% worse around the basket when Embiid plays, per Cleaning The Glass.
As has long been the case with the Jazz and Gobert, the Sixers allow fewer 3s and shots at the rim with Embiid on the floor -- and many more long 2s. With Gobert and Embiid barricading the rim, other defenders stick to shooters. It's not just that Gobert and Embiid are elite rim protectors; there are shot-blockers who don't radiate the same all-court impact.
It's how huge, fast, and smart they are -- how much space they seem to cover. They appear to be everywhere, blotting out every option. When you think you've spotted one, it's only because they've baited you:
My god, what an image. Shake Milton shades Donovan Mitchell left. That opens a driving lane. Embiid knows his teammates might overreact. He extends his arms and shouts: I got this. Stay home.
Mitchell encroaches for a cat-and-mouse game. Just as Mitchell might loft a floater, Embiid stabs at him. Embiid plants on his front foot so he can explode back to Hassan Whiteside if Mitchell tries the lob. Mitchell doesn't dare. He zooms into a spin, hoping to find daylight. Nope. Embiid steps forward, arm up. Mitchell searches for a passing lane, crouching to see if he might sneak something underneath Embiid's arms. Nope. Embiid bends with him.
Mitchell's fader misses. Embiid then goes straight up, making himself as big as he can get, and forces Whiteside into a longer hook.
Philly is 12-7 with Embiid available, and 3-8 without him. That record, and sequences like the one above, bring a tinge of sorrow at the prospect of a wasted peak Embiid season. Philly can't contend with a zero from Ben Simmons' roster spot. Expect trade talk to heat up.