Even though the world has fallen asleep, the lights are still bright.
The street lights on the Las Vegas Strip never went out, and suddenly there were two more shimmers. It was an SUV speeding.
The car suddenly turned right at a small intersection, and after turning a few corners around the maze, it stopped at an alley without the slightest light, and the two car lights also suddenly went out, falling into deep darkness with the surrounding world. So the people in the car also quickly got out of the car, blended in with this dark street, and relying on memory, he touched a small iron door and got into the house with a low body.
Immediately, a greeting voice came, "Welcome, this distinguished guest, since you can find the darkest corner of this casino, you must also know what kind of business we do." ”
The tall figure nodded slightly and made a dull voice, "Yes, I know you can buy everything here." ”
"Sir really knows the goods, so I wonder what you want to buy?" Do you want revenge, or do you want to seek pleasure? ”
This time he stopped nodding, shook his head slightly and said, "No need, I want to buy regret medicine." ”
"After, regret pill?" If there was light in the room, you could see the smile at the corner of the shopkeeper's mouth, but his professionalism made him quickly regain his composure, "Sir, seriously, where in this world is there any regret medicine, who can turn back time?" But you might as well tell me what happened. ”
"Well, no, I, I just had a date with someone, but I didn't make an appointment."
"Understand, you're missing an important date and making the other person unhappy. Then although we don't have regret medicine, there is a medicine that can make people lose memory for a short time and make the other party forget that you have made a no-show, is it okay? ”
"Make people forget that I ever showed up?" The tall man muttered, while suddenly breaking his fingers in the dark and starting to count, "That's all, then I want 100 pills of this medicine." ”
The clerk was a little skeptical of his ears, "100 capsules? Sir, we don't have so much in stock in the whole store, no one will prepare so much for $100,000 a pill, and a passport is limited to 10 pills. ”
Hearing this, the tall figure suddenly trembled, "Passport? I have passports, I have 3 passports, give me all your inventory! What I have is money! Give it all to me..."
Of course, I made up the above paragraph, but if there is really a regret medicine in this world, no matter how expensive, the majestic Joel Embiid hates to get one.
Overnight, because of an interview and a game in which he did not appear, the popular candidate for the league's MVP was burned out, and even faced a dangerous reversal of public opinion.
The origin of the matter goes back to the morning of March 27, US time, when Shams Charania, the top reporter of The Athletic, posted an interview on the website titled "Joel Embiid Opens His Heart: Talking About MVP Competition, How He Feels Before the Playoffs, and the Pressure on the 76ers to Win." This is a conversation between NBA ace reporters and superstars, which has rightly attracted public attention, but because some of the paragraphs are quite sharp, it has caused an uproar, and may even directly affect the voting trend of this season's MVP.
Let's start with some of the key passages, all in quotation marks are the original text of Embiid's interview:
"For the last two seasons, I don't think I've been chasing MVP trophies like crazy, but it's really been going on in my head. So at the beginning of the season, I also told Tatum when the Celtics were having a great record and I advised him not to focus on the MVP and focus on doing the right thing, to win, to dominate. Go and help your team win the game, that's all you have to do, everything else is decided. Of course I did it myself, and I would have thought I should have won an MVP a few years ago, but it didn't happen. ”
"Whether or not this year's MVP trophy can be won or not, I think it is natural. For example, in the previous (March 23) game against the Bulls, I could have filled up the stat sheet, but I didn't care, I could have gotten back on the court, got a triple-double, or secured my scoring title to continue the 30+ consecutive record, but I didn't care. I think my mind has risen to another level about winning, and all I care about now is winning, winning, winning. If I can get MVP, that's fine, if not, I don't care. ”
"I think the criteria for MVPs really change every year: for example, in the last three years, the first year they said I didn't play enough. Then I came back last year, played enough games, won the scoring title, and of course Jokic deserved the MVP, but he won as sixth in the West. I'm number one in the league again this year, I'm doing my best on the defensive end, and I think I deserve to be on the All-Defensive Team, and of course I don't care about that, but every year something happens differently. Especially if you add some so-called data analysis, everything becomes meaningless, there are some people in the league who can see that the defense is not good, but the data analysis says that he is the best defender? ”
"I don't think I'm the most stressed player, people often talk about who is the most stressed to win, my name is always mentioned, but I don't think I should be at the top of this list. I'm not a two-time MVP, I haven't even made the All-NBA team, I don't have any honors, so why am I the most stressed person? Some people have won two MVPs, won a bunch of MVPs, and haven't they won nothing? ”
Embiid's words are no different from naming names: There are 4 people who have more than two MVP trophies in the NBA, including James, Curry, Antetokounmpo and Jokic, but add the qualification of "haven't won anything yet", then this person can only be white and fat.
Realistically speaking, Embiid's words themselves are not a big problem, Jokic, as a player who may win such a huge award as three consecutive MVPs, should be treated to a higher standard, Embiid's so-called "defense is visibly not good, a meal of analysis has become particularly good", refers to Jokic, who has undoubtedly ranked first in the league in defensive BPM for two consecutive seasons, if a high-level data concludes that Jokic's defensive effect is the best in the league, it is indeed a little difficult to convince.
As the person who has finished second in the MVP for the past two seasons, as the person who has recently surpassed Jokic in the official NBA MVP rankings, Embiid is even the most stance to make this statement, and the greatest honor in life is not far away, and Embiid should have done his best to fight for it. He has already put in the best court performance of his career in the past month, and it is understandable to launch some public opinion war off-field, after all, people do not die for themselves, and in today's world, making good use of public opinion tools is a skill that every industry elite should master.
The only problem, the only problem with Embiid's interview, is that it was posted on the day of the 76ers' away game against the Nuggets, and the whole United States saw Embiid's sharp words early in the morning, but Embiid did not appear on the court when the two should have faced each other in the evening.
The two armies are at war, and you release the text of the Book of Jokic to the world, and as a result, Embiid hides before the battle.
76ers fans know that Embiid's physical condition is indeed not good.
Embiid has been almost the most injury-plagued of superstars in his division since joining the industry in 2014, and he has been much healthier in recent years, but with the Nuggets game completely pumping his energy output throughout March, and the Nuggets game being the third consecutive road game in four days, it's no surprise that the body sounded the alarm. Including the match against the Bulls mentioned by Embiid in the interview, the 76ers chose to put Embiid away throughout the second half, also considering his physical condition.
Back to back against the Suns, Embiid has a rare inefficiency in recent times, he is no longer awe-inspiring in the face of Biyombo's entanglement, and the day before against a quality defensive combination such as Chase Dream + Looney, Embiid can still score 46 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists, but back-to-back makes his physical strength unsustainable. The 28 points and 10 rebounds proved how high Embiid is a player in the lower limit today, but it was his first game in the whole of March in which he shot less than 50%, and the actual performance on the court was more embarrassing than 28+10.
As evidenced by the video, Embiid went to the arena for shooting practice on the day of the game against the Nuggets, but after feeling bad, he quickly stopped and asked the team doctor to wrap his aching right calf in a large amount of ice, and then made the decision to take a break that day.
Forcing an injury is never worth advocating, and a regular-season game is not worth the risk Embiid. But the question arises: Why did Embiid play against the Suns after a back-to-back second game? Or lead the team alone in Harden's absence, and against the Nuggets, Harden is likely to return according to the original plan.
After the 76ers suffered two consecutive losses, Embiid released harsh words before the Nuggets game, pointing the finger at Jokic, but he did not appear in the game, and the 76ers lost another game, completely losing the initiative to compete for the top two in the East - therefore, Embiid was seen by many as a cannon.
Embiid not only did not appear in the game, he did not even appear in the arena - he and Harden were also absent from the Nuggets, but Harden appeared at least on the bench in civilian clothes, and Embiid was nowhere to be seen, is he avoiding the game? Are you even dodging the camera's questioning? I don't know, but you can't stop people from thinking that.
Embiid was not there, but it was everywhere in Denver, and some fans printed Embiid's "search notice" early and distributed it everywhere in the arena, with a black-and-white simple poster that read, "Missing Persons, Joel Embiid, aka 'The Process', features include no MVP, no burst, high." The last time I was in Denver was in 2019. ”
With the broadcast footage of the game, the footage of a group of Denver teenagers holding a search poster has long been widely circulated on the Internet, how does Embiid explain? He did miss the road game against the Nuggets in the past two seasons, which is why the poster will say that he has not appeared in Denver for 4 years, but he was absent in the first two years because he was in the process of recovering from injury, and it is impossible to play for the Nuggets Special Injury, but will everyone care about these details? Everyone will only sigh: Huh? Embiid has never dared to play the Nuggets on the road...
Not only are Denver fans menacing, but neutral observers are also questioning, and Garnett directly said, "Is Embiid really unable to play, or is he deliberately not playing?" ”
Kendrick Perkins, who was originally firmly opposed to Jokic's re-election in the MVP vote, was even angry on ESPN's live broadcast, "Embiid is running away from gunsmoke, how can you sit and not play this kind of game, and you actually hide in this level of showdown?" I'm the one who has the voting rights for MVP, and I'll remember that moment. ”
Even if Embiid did have 100 pills that could temporarily cause all the judges to lose their memory, countless headlines were there, fan discussions were there, and things were completely beyond his control.
Everyone has seen a lot of negative and positive things, how can he really do positive and negative things?
After losing to the Nuggets in a three-game losing streak, the 76ers' record slipped to 49-26, ranking third in the East, not only being pulled away by the Celtics in front of them for three wins, but even hearing the hooves of the Cavaliers chasing behind them.
In the next five games, they will also face the Lone Ranger, Eastern European combination, the Raptors, the strongest Bucks and Celtics in the East, who have beaten them despite their recent poor performance, and the Heat, who eliminated them in the playoffs last year - after these five games, what will the 76ers' record rank like?
You know, Jokic has been at the top of the MVP list for a long time, due to his personal performance and the Nuggets team's impeccable record, Embiid is a high-energy output in the excellent timing of the Nuggets' 4-game losing streak, scoring 30+ and shooting 50%+ in 10 consecutive games, which completed the reversal of Jokic. But there are two points worth remarking: first, public opinion has been waiting for the possibility of not awarding Jokic three consecutive MVPs, this honor that Jojan has not had is too great, if Jokic takes it, it is not only an honor, but also an unparalleled burden, Embiid's timely appearance in March is giving the judges the best exit; Second, Embiid's lead is only a millimeter after overtaking Jokic, and the 76ers' winning percentage once surpassed the Nuggets, which also played an important role, and if the 76ers' record collapses, this part of the advantage will disappear.
Embiid is good, and without Jokic, his performance and absolute level this season is close to being a perfect MVP candidate; But Jokic, who led the team to first place in the West, averaged 25+12+10 per game, and had a 70% true shooting percentage, is not the perfect candidate - Embiid must know that he could have won this vote, but he defeated not Jokic himself, the one the judges were looking for, trying not to let Mr. Jokic answer three times in a row.
Embiid, he was capable and qualified to be named MVP this season.
He also has every reason to borrow some public opinion offensives.
He can of course also take a little break when he is unwell.
Each of these things is true, but Joel Embiid, the only thing you can't do is retreat from the front of the game with your attack on Jokic floating around the world. Since the cruel words have been released, you have to grit your teeth even if you are half-crippled, bravery must be more moving than shrewdness. Avoiding the fight made the 48 points and 17 rebounds in the first round of the meeting taste like wax. The most direct weather vane comes from the real Las Vegas, before the game against the Nuggets, Embiid was already the leader in MVP odds, but after the change from morning to night on March 27, Jokic has re-completed the catch-up and even overtaken.
It wasn't because of how invincible Mr. Jo's performance was that day, he just played a normal game, but Embiid, as the absent man, was seen as a coward who escaped and didn't even have much opportunity to argue.
For Embiid, he'd better now hope that the 76ers' results won't come as a surprise, so that he can at least end the season to create a situation where the two have similar records, statistics, and levels, forcing the judges to make a difficult decision.
But he should also understand that if he wins, it will only win in the context that Jokic should not be three consecutive MVPs.
If he loses, it is really because he has buried the good situation and manipulated a public opinion offensive that he simply cannot control. This interview was released a week earlier, and Embiid's momentum is unstoppable, and some media advocate that it is appropriate; Or release a week later, the end of the season is imminent, to strengthen some impression on the judges, it is a good choice. But at one of the most wrong points in time, Embiid caused himself to sink into the mud. It can be said that one son is wrong, and the whole plate is lost.
In fact, 76ers coach Rivers has an excellent comment about the MVP battle, saying that there are so many good players in this league, from Embiid to Jokic, from alphabet to Durant, "Why can't you like all of them? Or maybe you do love one and don't really like the other, but you definitely don't have to hate the other. ”
If Embiid had listened to these words earlier, I wonder if he would have understood that love is more powerful than hate.
Just after the Nuggets 76ers, Jokic gave Embiid, who was absent, very highly, "I think he's an amazing player, people will remember him as one of the most dominant players in the league, this guy is a real beast, absolutely talented." He can influence the game in so many ways, he can play low, he can face the frame, he can shoot threes, and he defends well, in some cases he can go from 1 to 5, and he's a very, very strong player. ”
In fact, the so-called pattern, emotional intelligence, personality these things, should not affect the MVP belonging, basketball things should use basketball to speak.