The NBA trend, like a reincarnation, switches back and forth between big balls and small balls. The small ball storm that has flourished in recent years seems to have a tendency to return to the "big ball tradition" in recent years due to the emergence of a number of outstanding big players. On March 15, Beijing time, Jokic, Embiid and Towns, three big-man centers of the new era, collectively gave a wonderful performance.
First of all, jokic and Embiid, these two centers are not only outstanding in their individual ability, but also help their own team to play very well this season. Currently, the two of them are strong contenders for regular season MVP this season. With the blessing of these backgrounds, the Nuggets' away game with the 76ers will become particularly interesting.
"I know that a lot of the discussion around this game has focused on the pairing of Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid," Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said, "and I understand the reasons behind this, because they are two very dominant big men and strong contenders for the MVP." But for our team, winning the next win is the most important thing, and we don't want to suffer a wave of three consecutive defeats at this stage of the season. ”
However, the Nuggets faced the more complete lineup of the 76ers, and were clearly at a disadvantage in the opening stages of the game, and at one point the opponent pulled the point difference to as much as 19 points. In this process, the 76ers' interior core Embiid played a very key role. In the whole game, Embiid scored a high of 34 points, completing his 31st performance of the season with 30+ points. If you consider his efficiency in 11 of 20 shots, as well as the stats of 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks, it is even more clear why Malone calls him an "MVP candidate".
This season, in 31 games in which Embiid scored 30+ points, the 76ers maintain a good record of 24 wins and 7 losses. However, one of these 7 defeats is due to the current Nuggets.
In the head-to-head showdown with Embiid, Jokic's personal data was somewhat inferior, and he only scored 22 points. However, Jokic also grabbed 13 rebounds and gave up an additional 8 assists, using a more comprehensive play to help the Nuggets climb out of the big pit of backwardness a little bit. Jokic has accumulated 56 times this season and handed over two double-doubles in 22 consecutive games, and his double-doubles are also the most in the entire NBA.
An important reason why the Nuggets fell behind in the opening stages of the game was that the team made too many mistakes. In the opening stage, they had as many as 7 turnovers, giving the 76ers as many as 10 points in vain, allowing the opponent to build a 17-point advantage along the way. And Jokic alone, there were also 5 mistakes in the whole field. If the Nuggets can't be reversed in the end, jokic will certainly have to bear a lot of responsibility.
However, the MVP winner last season stabilized his mind in time. In the fourth quarter, when the Nuggets counterattacked the most prosperous wave, Jokic made just one mistake. Instead, Embiid made two turnovers under Jokic's defense. Throughout the second half, Jokic scored only nine points, but he got seven rebounds and four assists, which helped the team tremendously.
Moreover, the Nugget bench represented by Hyland has also made a great contribution to the team's reversal, and in the comparison of the scores of the two teams' bench lineups, the Nugget bench has overpowered the 76ers with an absolute advantage of 48-14. Youngster Hyland scored 21 points, including a key long-range three in the fourth quarter, which became the key to the Nuggets' victory. Even Jokic praised the youngster's performance.
"I think our bench players have helped us a lot," Jokic said, "and it was they who helped the team to take the lead back, and the play of all the bench players was the reason we won this game." Burns (Hyland), for example, made several key three-pointers. ”
The strength of the teammates helped Jokic laugh to the end in this game that was regarded as "MVP direct dialogue". And maybe this game will actually determine the trend of the regular season MVP this season.
Historically, in the past 10 years, the players who finally won the MVP in the regular season have a great advantage in the direct dialogue with the second player in the MVP in the regular season, with a score of 17 wins and 7 losses. This is not a superstitious number, but an impression bonus. For example, this season, Jokic and Embiid, whether it is their personal performance or the team's achievements, can be said to be indistinguishable. In the final voting stage, the determinant of the position of the two in the minds of the judges may be the result of certain competitions.
When the 76ers first met the Nuggets at the beginning of the season, although they defeated the opponent, Embiid did not play that game. So this time the Nuggets' away game with the 76ers is the only meeting between the two top centers and the regular season this season. Jokic played more fully in this game and won the final victory, which will play an incalculable role in his pursuit of the final honor of the season.
Even Embiid, after the game, praised Jokic: "He's an amazing player, he has a great fighting spirit, and I enjoy playing against him on the field." He's like a beast on the field, which makes me enjoy watching his game too. However, he is also a player who is easy to study. ”
Originally, embiid and Jokic's MVP face-to-head matchup attracted the attention of the vast majority of fans. On the San Antonio away game, though, Timberwolf center Downs used his brilliant play, coupled with a 60-point performance in a single game, to shout a new declaration to the league — don't ignore his presence when discussing who is the most powerful man today.
The Timberwolves have had a good record lately, and after heading into March, they have achieved a fantastic 7-1 record before the game against the Spurs. It was also with this wave of performance that the Timberwolves not only stabilized their position in the 7th place in the West, but also narrowed the gap with the 6th Nuggets in the West to 1.5 wins. If they can keep the momentum going, they have a good chance of rushing out of the playoff area and locking in a playoff ticket. This is undoubtedly very tempting for Downs and the Timberwolves. So facing the Spurs, Towns had already made up his mind to win.
'I said to the manager before the game: 'We need this win and I'm willing to give everything for that goal.'" "If I had to play 44 minutes or even 48 minutes, I would do the same." That's the mentality I had when I played this game, I told myself that I had to play dominance, I had to play at my best. ”
Towns did exactly what he said. In the ensuing game against the Spurs, Towns made 31 athletic shots and hit 19 shots, and was super efficient on 7-of-11 shooting from outside the three-point line. In the final 1 minute and 39 seconds of the fourth quarter, Towns shot a three-pointer that locked the winner of the game, which allowed him to score a single game, reaching a full 60 points, into a whole new field.
First of all, this single-game 60 points set a new scoring record for Downs' personal career. Previously, he had a single 56-point performance against the Hawks on March 28, 2018. Second, Towns also set a new personal scoring record in Timberwolves history. Previously, the Timberwolves' all-time individual scoring record was exactly the 56 points held by Towns. So after this game, Towns rewrote two pieces of history.
In addition, focusing on this season, James of the Lakers and Trey Young of the Hawks have both scored 56 points per game, jointly maintaining their personal single-game scoring records this season. Although many players have also played 50+ points per game this season, Downs is still the first person in the season to enter the 60+ field, and he has naturally become the holder of this season's personal scoring record.
In addition to scoring 60 points, Towns also grabbed 17 rebounds in the game. He became the second center to deliver "60 points + 15 rebounds" after Shaquille O'Neal in 2000. If you look at the history even further back, you'll find that in NBA history, only four centers have ever played a single 60+ game — O'Neal, David Robinson, Wilt Chamberlain, and George McCann. Now, Towns let his name shine with these 4 predecessors.
Speaking of which, Downs scored 60 points this time, and the process is still a bit tortuous. Originally, with a brilliant performance of 32 points in the third quarter, Towns had already made his personal score reach 56 points by the end of the third quarter. Moreover, the difference between the two teams at that time was not very large, so Downs still had a chance and reason to play in the fourth quarter, and people also had great expectations for him to impact higher personal scores.
So, with 8 minutes and 29 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Towns was back on the pitch. As a result, after playing for less than 2 minutes, Towns received 2 consecutive personal fouls in the 45 seconds before and after, and the cumulative number of personal fouls reached 5. Coach Finch replaced him to protect him, and only changed downs again until there were 3 minutes left in the game. Towns also seized the last opportunity, free throws plus three-point shots, allowing him to complete this single-game 60+ feat.
According to Towns, before coming on in the final moments of the fourth quarter, he asked head coach Finch how he was going to play after playing, and Finch simply said " Go get 60 points " . "So, when I'm on the field again, all I have to do is play really tough," Towns said.
With so far this season, it may be too early for Towns to compete for MVP. But after playing a game with a score of 60+, it undoubtedly allowed him to enter a whole new field. In this field, Embiid and Jokic are staging a fight, and in the near future, maybe Downs will join in, making this new "center boom" more brilliant and dazzling.