by AAA Sports
Monday, May 01, 2023As the NBA playoffs grind into the conference semifinals, a lot of light will be directed on the performances of two-time reigning MVP Nicola Jokic and this year’s expected regular season MVP, Joel Embiid.
They have so much in common, these massive men. They have size in a league that has gotten smaller and faster, they can dominate when it’s needed, they can shoot 3s and they are in the primes of their careers in their late-20s. If Jokic’s Nuggets or Embiid’s 76ers win the title this year, it’s a near-lock that one of them will have to be the Finals MVP. Oddsmakers placed Jokic third at +800 and Embiid a tick back of him at +900, behind only Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Kevin Durant of Phoenix.
The comparisons end there, though, simply because Jokic is healthy and Embiid is not.
Looking almost like a burned-out accountant bored with his job, Jokic and the Nuggets dominated the star-laden Suns in Game 1 of their series Saturday night, and can turn the vise even tighter Monday night in Denver. If the big guy is bothered by a series of Nuggets playoff flame-outs during his career, he’s not showing it. Phoenix might have Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, and whatever is left of Chris Paul, but those four were a combined minus-71 on Saturday night while Jokic ho-hummed his way to a plus-19.
Injuries to teammates Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray, plus Golden State’s Western Conference dominance, have kept Jokic and the Nuggets from making it out of the conference. They came closest in 2020 but were pantsed by the Lakers in the Bubble.
Fast forward to today, and the Jokic-led Nuggets are +550 to win the title, with the center +950 to win the Finals MVP trophy. The latter number will certainly dwindle a bit if Denver makes it two in a row over Phoenix on Monday night, lessening the chance that Durant (+700) even gets to June.
In the East, Embiid and the 76ers figure to have all sorts of problems figuring out a way to beat a healthy Celtics team four times in the next two weeks. If Embiid plays at all, he won’t be at anything near 100 percent after suffering a sprained knee in Philly’s first-round sweep of the Nets. And while the 76ers were able to take care of business in Game 4 vs. Brooklyn, no one thinks Philly has a chance against Boston if Embiid is in street clothes.
Embiid being banged up in the playoffs is more than a bit ironic and discouraging because he’s coming off the two healthiest regular seasons of his career – 66 games played this year and 68 the year before. And he basically sewed up the MVP Award in early April when he torched the Celtics for 52 points. That effort produced a rare win over Boston for the 76ers, who lost to the Celtics the other three times they played this year and can’t seem to get past their rival in the Northeast.
Captain Obvious could tell you that without Embiid (+900 to win the Finals MVP but a heavy favorite to win the regular season award), Philadelphia will, for the 40th consecutive season, be knocked out of the playoff at some point -- mostly like in these Eastern Conference semifinals for the fifth straight time.
Game 1 vs. Boston (Celtics -9) is Monday night and the Sixers say that Embiid is doubtful despite getting the gift of a few extra days rest when the Celtics surprisingly lost Game 5 at home to Atlanta.
They have so much in common, these massive men. They have size in a league that has gotten smaller and faster, they can dominate when it’s needed, they can shoot 3s and they are in the primes of their careers in their late-20s. If Jokic’s Nuggets or Embiid’s 76ers win the title this year, it’s a near-lock that one of them will have to be the Finals MVP. Oddsmakers placed Jokic third at +800 and Embiid a tick back of him at +900, behind only Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Kevin Durant of Phoenix.
The comparisons end there, though, simply because Jokic is healthy and Embiid is not.
Looking almost like a burned-out accountant bored with his job, Jokic and the Nuggets dominated the star-laden Suns in Game 1 of their series Saturday night, and can turn the vise even tighter Monday night in Denver. If the big guy is bothered by a series of Nuggets playoff flame-outs during his career, he’s not showing it. Phoenix might have Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, and whatever is left of Chris Paul, but those four were a combined minus-71 on Saturday night while Jokic ho-hummed his way to a plus-19.
Injuries to teammates Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray, plus Golden State’s Western Conference dominance, have kept Jokic and the Nuggets from making it out of the conference. They came closest in 2020 but were pantsed by the Lakers in the Bubble.
Fast forward to today, and the Jokic-led Nuggets are +550 to win the title, with the center +950 to win the Finals MVP trophy. The latter number will certainly dwindle a bit if Denver makes it two in a row over Phoenix on Monday night, lessening the chance that Durant (+700) even gets to June.
In the East, Embiid and the 76ers figure to have all sorts of problems figuring out a way to beat a healthy Celtics team four times in the next two weeks. If Embiid plays at all, he won’t be at anything near 100 percent after suffering a sprained knee in Philly’s first-round sweep of the Nets. And while the 76ers were able to take care of business in Game 4 vs. Brooklyn, no one thinks Philly has a chance against Boston if Embiid is in street clothes.
Embiid being banged up in the playoffs is more than a bit ironic and discouraging because he’s coming off the two healthiest regular seasons of his career – 66 games played this year and 68 the year before. And he basically sewed up the MVP Award in early April when he torched the Celtics for 52 points. That effort produced a rare win over Boston for the 76ers, who lost to the Celtics the other three times they played this year and can’t seem to get past their rival in the Northeast.
Captain Obvious could tell you that without Embiid (+900 to win the Finals MVP but a heavy favorite to win the regular season award), Philadelphia will, for the 40th consecutive season, be knocked out of the playoff at some point -- mostly like in these Eastern Conference semifinals for the fifth straight time.
Game 1 vs. Boston (Celtics -9) is Monday night and the Sixers say that Embiid is doubtful despite getting the gift of a few extra days rest when the Celtics surprisingly lost Game 5 at home to Atlanta.
