50 points, 51 points! The NBA gave birth to a data brush, and you made the MVP lose its gold content
The NBA regular season has been going on for more than two months, with the Timberwolves and Thunder in the West dominating the top two, and the Celtics, Bucks, and 76ers in the East competing for dominance. This season, many historical-level offensive teams were born, such as the Pacers' offensive efficiency of 122.5, ranking first in history, and the Celtics, 76ers, Bucks, Hawks, including the Thunder, which directly dominated the top six offensive efficiency in NBA history! 9 years ago, Wei Shao won the scoring championship season, averaging only 28.1 points per game, and there were only three people in the entire league who averaged more than 25 points per game: Wei Shao, Harden, and James.
In today's league, there are 18 players who average more than 25 points per game, and 5 people who average more than 30 points per game: Embiid averages 34.8 points per game, Doncic averages 33.4 points per game, Alexander averages 31.4 points per game, Antetokounmpo averages 30.9 points per game, and Fox averages 30 points per game. Naturally, defense is precious, and because of this, teams such as the Timberwolves, Magic, Thunder, and Rockets have risen rapidly with excellent defense and team cohesion. But what's more interesting is that the league's reference criteria for measuring MVP have become more and more simplistic and violent: leading teams to the top four in the division, stars can play flashy and efficient enough statistics, and the real strength and playoff success of stars are completely ignored. 50 points, 51 points! The NBA gave birth to a data brush, and you made the MVP lose its gold content.
In the Eastern Conference semifinals last season, the 76ers led the Celtics 3-2 at one point, but were eventually eliminated by their opponents. The three games won by the 76ers were Harden's 42 points + three-point kill, and one was Harden's 45 points + three-point kill. But when Harden was becoming the team's hero, Embiid jumped out to express his displeasure, believing he didn't get the ball in the final quarter. In the two games of G6 and G7, Harden took the initiative to play a supporting role, Embiid scored 26 points and 10 rebounds in 9 of 19 in a game, and 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 turnovers (tie-break) in 5 of 18 games, which became a joke. Embiid, as the strongest center in the league, is actually the top level in the league from technique to physical confrontation to finishing, but his style of play is very unreasonable: he likes to dribble with the ball, and as a center, he is seriously lacking in aggression when facing some championship teams.
After Harden left this season, Embiid finally ushered in an "explosion": he played an average of 34.1 minutes per game, was able to score 34.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists, scoring more than playing time, and constantly breaking various records: at least 15 consecutive games of 30+, the first person after Harden during the Rockets period! At least 30 points and 10 rebounds in 14 consecutive games, the longest in the league in the last 52 years! Facing the Fish Belly Bulls, Embiid clocked out in only 3 quarters, scoring 31 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, the first person in NBA history! In addition, according to US media statistics, Embiid has played a total of 26 games this season, of which 10 games were directly clocked in at the end of the game. In the words of the Philadelphia team reporter, Embiid could have averaged 40 points per game this season! Indeed, Embiid definitely has this ability, facing the league's best defensive Timberwolves, Embiid scored 51 points and 12 rebounds in 36 minutes!
In the face of the Fish Belly Wizards, Embiid scored 50 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists in 38 minutes, in addition to averaging nearly 12 free throws per game, it is difficult to limit any player who is opposite him, Embiid can do indiscriminate strikes! But Embiid has two problems that are becoming more and more obvious: First, his proportion of ball possession is increasing, Embiid's round share rate this season is 37.8%, and the league's round share rate is the top 15, only he has an interior line, 11 guards, and the rest are Brother Alphabet, Durant, and Kuzma. Because of Embiid's efficiency, he gets enough freedom, similar to the role of a free agent on the offensive end of the football field, where he can go wherever he wants, and even grab backcourt rebounds and launch his own offense. You can be so reckless in the regular season, but when it comes to the playoff confrontation, will the other party give you this opportunity?
Embiid has clocked in 10 of his 26 games in the final quarter, but this season's 76ers have a 4-5 record in the stalemate (within 5 points in the final 5 minutes), and Embiid is only 37.5% from the field in key moments. Although the 76ers are among the top four in the league in terms Xi of offensive and defensive efficiency, they rank 12th in the league in rebounds per game and 21st in the league in assists per game Xi, and they are used to singles + no high standards of frame protection, which will be infinitely amplified in the playoffs, and you can't meet the Wizards, Pistons, and Hornets in the playoffs. Embiid won the scoring title and MVP last season, and the playoffs were directly exposed, but this season, the NBA official still put Embiid in the first position in the MVP for 4 consecutive weeks.
Embiid really single-handedly made the MVP lose its gold content. Embiid is indeed the best center in the league, but his playing Xi is poor, lacks dominance, does not have the ability to lead the team to raise the ceiling, and is ultimately just a regular season star. Relatively speaking, whether it is Brother Alphabet or Jokic, after all, they all led the team to win the championship, but what about Embiid? The second round of the playoffs has become his daily routine every year, which is the real data brush of the NBA.