After the playoffs kicked off this season, there were a lot of unexpected situations. Taking the West as an example, the Thunder and the Timberwolves, two super dark horses in the regular season, swept the Pelicans and Suns respectively in the playoffs, especially the Timberwolves, which almost broke up the Suns, and even the American media reported that Booker may also leave the team. Once again, the Lakers fell at the feet of the Nuggets, but truth be told, the Lakers were a little tragic out, and they gave it their all. James + Durant + Curry who missed the playoffs, the NBA era has indeed changed. On the Eastern side, the Celtics did not have much pressure in the face of the Heat and easily advanced, and the super dark horse Pacers knocked down the Bucks, but in the other group of matchups, the 76ers finally lost to the Knicks and stopped in the first round. In the past two years, with Harden here, the 76ers are still in the second round, but it is not the turn of Maxey and Embiid to lead the team!
Since Harden left the 76ers, the 76ers have had two direct beneficiaries. The first is Maxi. In the regular season this season, Maxey averaged 25.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game, and was selected as the most improved player this season, and in the playoffs, Maxey averaged 29.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game. According to the salary rules, Maxey's next contract is estimated to be $204.5 million for five years, with a starting salary of $35 million, but the first-year salary is only $1,300 for the team's salary cap! Obviously, the 76ers still want to add more helpers to Embiid's side, but can Embiid become a competent team boss? Burst 70 points and blast 50 points! The NBA league bullies the soft and fears the hard.
Let's start with a few sets of data. Statistics show that Embiid made a total of 78 free throws in the first six games of the playoffs this season, more than the Heat, Pelicans, and Thunder. Secondly, Embiid averaged 33 points, 10.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game in the playoffs, but his two-game shooting rate was only 44.4%+33.3%, and as a center, as the league's top center, his effective shooting rate was only 49.2%. The efficiency value is not even as good as the Sun's Nurkic. The point is that Embiid averaged 5.8 points + 0.8 rebounds per game in the final quarter of the playoffs, with a shooting rate of 23%! After 6 games in the series, Embiid grabbed a total of 5 rebounds in the final quarter! And the Philadelphia media also forwarded a news: Embiid is the first MVP in NBA history who has not yet reached the division finals! Embiid is closest to the division finals, and he was killed by Leonard!
Here are a few examples. In January of this year, Embiid faced the Spurs and Wembanyama, and he used his "explosiveness" to shoot 24 of 41 from the field, 21 of 23 from the free throw line, and exploded with 70 points and 18 rebounds, and in the third game of the playoffs against the Knicks, Embiid was 13 of 19 from the field and 19 of 21 from the free throw line, and once again blasted 50 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. It seems that there is no connection, but after Embiid played the Spurs, he followed up to avoid the Nuggets, including a meniscus injury against the Warriors and was out of action for two months. In fact, he has been injured before, but he can still face weak teams and do heavy punching! In the Knicks series, Embiid was brave in the first three quarters of every game, and suddenly disappeared in the fourth quarter, not once or twice, not three or four times, and he can't always count on his teammates! Coach Nurse wants Embiid to play more aggressively.
Embiid has a regular season round share of 38% and a playoff round share of 35.8%, both of which are the first in the league! To put it simply, Embiid wants to brush up the data, it is very easy, and he has maintained an average of 22 shots + more than a dozen free throws per game in the regular season and playoffs, even if the shooting rate is less than 45%, but the data is very gorgeous. But there is one thing I don't understand, Embiid, as a center, can certainly dribble, control the ball, and organize and lead the team, and he has the final say in the 76ers. But as the core of the team, shouldn't he step up at the last moment? Why did Embiid need the help of his teammates at the last moment again and again, but he was gone? Last season, he counted on Harden to play a 42-point + three-point game and a 45-point + three-point game, but Van Embiid was tougher, or concentrated on letting Harden hold the ball and win the Celtics.
Maxey has performed so well in the playoffs, but Van Embiid has fewer turnovers and plays tougher, is the Knicks really strong?Embiid's key playoff stats: 1-3, 3.0 points per game +25% shooting, is this a superstar who has been ranked first in the league in the MVP list for ten consecutive weeks when he is healthy? Embiid has said before that he prefers Durant's style of play, and he doesn't consider himself a pure center. Playing style is only one aspect, no matter which style of play, if you just let yourself have better stats, but you can't help the team, then what's the point? Besides, Embiid's style of play puts a lot of load on the knee and Achilles tendon, and it is more difficult to move with a heavy body, and he gives up the basket, and the 76ers lose their dominance under the basket, and they don't do it any good for themselves and the team.
Embiid is really a rare supergiant in this league who bullies the weak and fears the hard. Every year the data is perfect, but it doesn't stand up to scrutiny. Relying on exaggerated round possession to support, but lacking strong willpower and fighting spirit, let alone the ability to decide life and death at critical moments, often fleeing from the battle! In terms of team influence alone, it is not as good as the young Maxi. With Harden here, the second round can still be guaranteed, and as soon as Harden leaves, there is no competitiveness. Embiid certainly knows it, but he won't change because he still dreams of being the league's No. 1 center and the league's bottomless support. Goodbye championship, Embiid's career is directly at the end, he is not a leader who can unite the team at all, a few notches worse than Jokic.