When exactly will Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic be on the fence?
In the past four games, Embiid has had 50 points, 12 rebounds and 2 assists, 40 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists, 38 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists, 42 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists, and Philadelphia's record is a win-win victory;
Jokic had 49 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, 26 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists, 34 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, 28 points, 21 rebounds and 9 assists, and the Nuggets' record was a win-win victory.
There is no doubt that Embiid and Jokic have reached a synchronized level over the past period of time, both in terms of individual performance and team record. In fact, they still participated in the draft in the same year, but Embiid was tanhua and Jokic was the eleventh pick in the second round. Participating in the draft in the same year, or the same position, naturally to make a comparison. Especially in the past period, Embiid and Jokic have had a tendency to roll inwards. Both are the top interior of the league, what are the characteristics of each of them?
Jokic is becoming more and more orthodox
At a time when Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and others are competing for regular season MVP, Jokic is undervalued a lot. Averaging 26.2 points, 13.9 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game this season is still solid, 57 percent shooting and 36.4 percent three-point shooting are efficient enough, and the Nuggets have been too difficult this season, Jamal Murray has not returned, Michael Potter Jr. has also been reimbursed for the season, and all the pressure is on Jokic alone. With these pressures, Jokic's efficiency did not decline, and the Nuggets also ranked sixth in the West with 25 wins and 21 losses. So, the regular season MVP must not ignore Jokic.
Jokic is hailed as the model of the modern center, we can find all the answers about the inside line of modern basketball, the inside line, the outside line, the three-point projection, and Jokic's organization does not occupy the ball like Russell Westbrook, Luka Doncic and other ball-holding cores, he averages only about 2.5 seconds per touch, and Doncic and others have to reach about 6 seconds. But Jokic seems to be becoming more and more orthodox this season, retaining his elbow position and approaching the offensive end and attacking style more and more like a traditional center forward.
As of January 26, Beijing time, Jokic has completed a total of 708 shots, including 469 shots on the inside, 71 shots in the middle distance, and 168 shots outside the three-point line, and his shots are mainly concentrated on the inside line and three-point shots, which is actually very much in line with today's concept. In fact, this is also Jokic's adjustment this season, he has a 10% proportion of long-distance shots this season, and last season it was 18.2%, the decline is more obvious, and Jokic's 47.9% mid-range shooting rate is quite good, which is the terrible point of Jokic's adjustment. Since the Nuggets have relied heavily on Jokic on the offensive end this season, the key to his efficiency is to play more inside, then three-point shooting, and the middle distance is relatively abandoned.
In terms of offensive methods, Jokic is mainly a jump shot, with 214 jump shots out of 708 shots, and the rest are layups, hooks, throws, supplements, etc., which are actually the playing methods of interior players. Moreover, Jokic is extremely efficient, shooting 75.6% from the throw and 65% from the hook. Jokic has enough inside skills, coupled with his soft feel, that once in the offensive zone, he can finish at any time. As for the bag clip, that is also Jokic's favorite defensive style, you can find Aaron Gordon in the bottom corner under the teammates, and the pass is so comfortable, that is real kung fu.
Embiid is getting more and more different
In fact, Embiid should be the representative of the traditional interior line, his talent is extremely high, and his average of 29 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game this season is also the key to Philadelphia's ability to achieve 28 wins and 19 losses. But Jokic seems to be a bit unprofessional, and as a centre-forward, he is now more and more different, because he has more of a swinging style of front guard, and even the offensive area is on the outside.
Embiid has made a total of 680 shots this season, including 334 inside shots, 225 shots in the mid-range and 121 shots outside the three-point line, although most of Embiid's shots are also concentrated on the inside, but his mid-range shots account for 33.1%, which is already a high percentage for an interior player. Of course, Embiid's mid-range shooting rate of 43.6% is also a very good report card.
Embiid has a high percentage of mid-range shots for a reason, as his offensive style is very different from Jokic's. Of the 680 shots, 161 were made on a jump shot, and another 112 were completed on an emergency stop jump shot. Speaking of the emergency stop jump shot, it is estimated that many people will think of Chris Paul, Kevin Durant and Demar DeRozan and others for the first time, and generally the inner line will rarely complete the end in the form of an emergency stop jump shot, Embiid is just the opposite, he has 16.5% of the shots are completed by the emergency stop jump shot, and the emergency stop jump shot is actually mainly combined with the middle distance, so this is also the key to Embiid's mid-range shots.
Embiid has averaged 4.1 rounds this season in the face-frame singles, the twentieth in the league and the only interior player in the top twenty singles rounds. It's even more hard to believe that a player with excellent interior strength has actually made it into the top twenty of the league in terms of face frame singles. However, Embiid's frame singles shooting rate reached 43.5%, which is higher than the shooting rate of LeBron James, Doncic, Paul George and others, perhaps this is the embodiment of Embiid's talent. Like Embiid's inside line, his face frame singles eventually hit a mid-range emergency stop jump shot, because Embiid's speed is not too fast, and it is difficult to complete the breakthrough layup in the face frame singles.
More mid-range projections, more emergency stop jump shots, and more face frame singles, such a way of playing is difficult to connect with inside players. So, Embiid is really getting more and more different. Speaking of which, it's his talent, but it's also easy to affect efficiency, Embiid shot only 49.9% this season, and only 50% of his career shooting in the 20-21 season, and Jokic has never shot less than 50%.
If there are no special circumstances, Embiid and Jokic will definitely continue to leverage, they are the top interior of the league today, but from the personal honor point of view, Embiid is one step behind, after all, Jokic has lifted a regular season MVP trophy, the former has to work harder. Looking forward to the head-to-head confrontation between the two, staging an orthodox and alternative duel.
Text/Duncan's laugh